Gloucester and Mathews counties, as well as the other jurisdictions that comprise the Three Rivers Health District, have experienced fewer COVID-19 cases over the past week than it has “in a couple of months,” according to district director Dr. Richard Williams.
Eighty-five new cases were reported across the district from last Wednesday to this Wednesday, for a total of 2,251 cases since the pandemic began. Districtwide, there have been 137 people hospitalized, and 38 people have died.
Of all the localities in the district, Williams said that Mathews County and two others—Lancaster and Westmore-
land—were at “highest risk” from a case incidence perspective under K-12 school metrics developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Gloucester and all the other localities in the district were at “higher risk,” he said.
The number of new cases reported in Mathews over the past week was eight, for a total of 135 cases since the pandemic began. Gloucester had 13 cases during the past week, bringing its overall total to 350 cases thus far.
Hospitalizations in the two counties remained the same, with 10 total hospitalizations in Mathews and 17 total hospitalizations in Gloucester since the beginning of the pandemic.
Mathews is now the only locality in the Three Rivers Health District that has seen no deaths from the pandemic. There have been three in Gloucester.
As of Wednesday morning, Middlesex County had 146 cases, nine hospitalizations, and 11 deaths.
Three Rivers continues to have outbreaks, which are indicators of enhanced viral spread, said Williams, and the source of community transmission continues to be exposure during private, unregulated events.
While there have been outbreaks in business and congregate settings, said Williams, the district has not yet had an outbreak in an educational setting. Schools have been doing well, he said, although he states further that there have been COVID-19 cases among faculty, staff and students in multiple jurisdictions. He said that most school systems are making plans to bring students back into the schools and begin in-person operations, guided by the extent of community transmission.
The Virginia Department of Health has launched a K-12 COVID-19 outbreak dashboard, available at www.vdh.gov/coronavirus/outbreaks-in-school-settings.
Williams said that the CDC has revised its close contact guidance, saying that a high-risk exposure is one in which an individual has been within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more during a 24-hour period, starting from two days before onset of the illness. The new guidance comes as a result of ongoing study of the virus, said Williams.
The previous guidance held that a person was at high risk if they were within six feet of an infected person for 15 minutes continuously. But new studies show that the virus doesn’t have to be delivered all at one time, he said, and that cumulative doses are effective for transmission.
Testing
The district is offering free community testing at various sites in the upcoming weeks, including Monday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Middlesex Health Department; Monday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gloucester Library Main Street Center; and Monday, Nov. 30 from 2-6 p.m. at Middlesex Health Department.
To make an appointment, call 804-815-4191 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Statewide cases
As of Wednesday morning, Virginia’s total case count was 176,754, an increase of 7,982 since last week, with 374 hospitalized during the past week, for a total of 12,384 hospitalized since the pandemic began. There were 101 deaths from the virus statewide during the past week, for a total of 3,616 deaths since March.
The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Administration reported that 1,068 people with COVID-19 were in hospitals across the state on Wednesday morning, with 252 of them in the intensive care unit and 113 on respirators. As of Wednesday, 19,786 people had been treated for the virus in Virginia hospitals and released since the pandemic began.
Bed and ventilator availability continued to be stable as of Wednesday, with 3,305 inpatient beds available across the state, and an additional 3,695 available under the governor’s executive order. There were 2,917 ventilators on-hand in hospitals, with 814 of them in use.