Area sees 146 cases, two deaths in three days

The local spread of COVID-19 continues.

Wise County reported 116 new cases between Monday and yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

As of yesterday, the county had reported a total of 4,480 cases since spring 2020, compared to 4,364 cases as of Monday.
There were 211 county residents hospitalized with COVID as of Thursday.

The county’s total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 grew by two since Monday, from 116 to 118.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton increased by 30 since Monday, from 443 to 473.

There were 25 city residents hospitalized with COVID as of Thursday.

The number of total deaths in the city remained at eight.

In Virginia, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 627,843 Monday to 635,157 yesterday, an increase of 7,314. The number of “probable” cases rose from 208,297 Monday to 211,822 yesterday, an increase of 3,525.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 135 to 10,523. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 16 to 1,940.

To look at the health department’s data, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov and go to the COVID-19 Data and Resources section.

VACCINATION RATES

As of yesterday, nearly 49 percent of Wise County residents and nearly 56 percent of Norton residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department statistics.

However, slightly less than 40 percent of county residents and nearly 45 percent of Norton residents are fully vaccinated.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Aug. 12 that 73 percent of Virginians 18 and older had received at least one dose.

Guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifies that those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated should continue to wear masks, practice physical distancing and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.