The peak of the Omicron surge has passed, both nationally and in Virginia; however, transmission levels of COVID-19 remain high, according to Dr. Richard Williams, director of the Three Rivers Health District.
While case rates have dramatically decreased, Williams urged residents to get vaccinated against Covid as soon as possible. He said in his weekly update on Monday that about 70.2 percent of the total population of Virginia has now been fully vaccinated.
Increase in deaths
While case rates have decreased, deaths have increased because of the surge, said a press release from Logan Anderson, public information officer for the Virginia Department of Health. Many of the deaths from the virus reported in February on the online Covid dashboard occurred in January, said the release, because a death certificate is recorded online later than the actual date of the death. Therefore, the increase in deaths seen statewide between last week and this week didn’t all necessarily occur during the past week.
Anderson attributed the increase in deaths now being reported to three things: the surge in cases due to the Omicron variant, the natural delay between the onset of illness to death, and the time it takes for the National Center of Health Statistics to review and assign appropriate codes to Virginia death certificates before they’re sent back to VDH.
Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths
The number of new cases reported in Gloucester over the past week was 166, lower than the 219 new cases reported last week, and less than a quarter of the 750 new cases reported at the height of the pandemic surge in mid-January. The new cases bring Gloucester’s total to 7,035 cases since the pandemic began two years ago.
Six Covid deaths were reported for Gloucester during the past week, but as noted above, some of those deaths may have occurred earlier. As of Wednesday, 92 Gloucester residents had died from the virus.
The number of hospitalizations in Gloucester decreased by one person, which can occur when the health department determines that a person’s place of residence was different than originally reported. Total hospitalizations for Gloucester stood at 99 as of Wednesday.
In Mathews, there were 41 new cases recorded during the past week, for a total of 1,383. Two deaths were recorded, for a total of 26, and there were no new hospitalizations, leaving the total at 31.
Middlesex saw 38 new cases between last Wednesday and this Wednesday, for a total of 1,732, and five deaths were reported, for a total of 41. There were no new hospitalizations, leaving the total at 41.
Across the Three Rivers Health District, 798 new cases of the virus were recorded during the week, for a total of 26,478. Twenty-five deaths were newly recorded in the district, for a total of 351, and one new hospitalization brought that total to 633.
Statewide, there were 35,311 new cases, for a total of 1,593,694 Virginians who have been reported with the virus since the pandemic began. The number of Virginia residents whose deaths were recorded on the website during the past week was 893, bringing total deaths to 17,305 since the pandemic began. The number of hospitalizations recorded dropped statewide, bringing the total down by 373, to 47,183.
Vaccination opportunities
A special community walk-in Pfizer clinic for both children and adults will be held from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the Freeshade Community Center, 1544 Regent Road in Topping.
The Middlesex Health Department will have two Pfizer clinics on Tuesday at 2780 General Puller Highway, Saluda. The first will be from 10 a.m. to noon, for ages 12 and over, including boosters. The second will be from 2-4 p.m., and that clinic is for ages 5-11.
First Morning Star Baptist Church at 8906 Guinea Road, Hayes, will have a special Moderna clinic from 2-6 p.m. next Friday, Feb. 18 for ages 12 years old and over.
Testing opportunities
Middlesex Health Department is offering free testing by appointment only on Monday and Wednesday, Feb. 14 and 16, at the health department at 2780 General Puller Highway, Saluda. Call 804-815-4191 for an appointment.