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Virginia COVID-19 update: testing numbers trending down, hospital capacity still strong

Chris Graham
Virginia covid-19
(© Ingo Menhard – stock.adobe.com)

The three-day average of new COVID-19 positive tests in Virginia is at 2,727, with 2,599 new positives reported Monday by the Virginia Department of Health.

It’s too early to tell, obviously, if the recent trend is, as former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb observed on Sunday, a sign that COVID-19 “may be peaking nationally, and perhaps starting to decline,” or if what we’re seeing is the result of a testing lag because of the holidays.

Hospital census numbers in Virginia continue to look good: with overall census below 13,000 each of the past four days, standing at 12,728 today, 77.3 percent of the state’s overall hospital-bed capacity.

ICUs in the Commonwealth are at 78 percent of pre-surge capacity, with 1,411 patients in ICU beds in Virginia today, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.

Of that total, 526 are patients with positive COVID-19 tests or who have COVID-19 test results pending – 37.3 percent of the total.

Of the total number of beds occupied, 2,563 are patients with COVID-19 positive tests or those awaiting a test result – 20.1 percent of all those currently hospitalized.

Story by Chris Graham




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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].