County reports 52 new cases, one death

Wise County reported 52 new COVID-19 cases between last Thursday and Monday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

As of Monday, the county had reported a total of 5,746 cases since spring 2020, compared to 5,694 cases as of last Thursday.
There were 234 county residents hospitalized with COVID as of Monday.
The county’s total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 increased by one, from 129 to 130.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton was reduced by five, from 637 reported last Thursday to 632 reported Monday. The reason was not immediately apparent.

There were 32 city residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The number of total deaths in the city remained at 15.

In Virginia, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 704,218 last Thursday to 707,772 Monday, an increase of 3,554. The number of “probable” cases rose from 247,480 last Thursday to 249,798 Monday, an increase of 2,318.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 59 to 12,211. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 20 to 2,337.

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 52 percent of Wise County residents and about 60 percent of Norton residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department statistics.

Nearly 44 percent of county residents and almost 50 percent of Norton residents are fully vaccinated.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Nov. 12 that more than 83 percent of Virginia adults had received at least one dose, while 75 percent of adults are fully vaccinated.

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.