With 56 percent of residents 18 and older and 80 percent of residents 65 and older having received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, the new case rate across the Three Rivers Health District is now averaging fewer than 10 cases a day, according to the weekly report from Medical Director Dr. Richard Williams.

Looking back, the new case rate for the district in the second week of January, during the post-holiday spike, was more than 90 cases per day.

The average across Virginia continues to improve, as well, said Williams, with a new case rate of about 400 a day, averaged over a seven-day period, down significantly from the 5,013 average per day spike reported during the second week of January. The U.S. as a whole is averaging about 27,000 new cases a day, he said, well below the more than 260,000 new cases per day that were recorded in early January.

COVID-19 vaccines continue to be widely available, and Williams urged all residents to get vaccinated, including those aged ...