Fairfax County and other NoVA jurisdictions have seen the number of COVID-19 cases rise in recent weeks.
“Emergency department visits for individuals who are diagnosed with COVID-19 have increased to 3.3 percent of all emergency department visits — up from 1.2 percent in early June,” the Fairfax County health district said this week.
While the overall number is low, the health district said that this is the “highest proportion reported since late January 2024.”
The Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard as of July 13 showed a steady rise in the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in emergency departments over the last three months in the Northern District, which includes Alexandria and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William.
Just over 2 percent of the emergency room cases in the Northern district involved COVID-19. Across Virginia, 1.4 percent of ER cases involved the respiratory condition.
Across the state, 3,617 cases were reported from July 7 to July 13 with one person dying. That’s up from 2,860 the week before with one death.
In the week that ended July 13, Fairfax had 524 cases, up from 460 the week before. In the past 13 weeks, the county had 2,962 cases and five deaths, according to the state health department.
Loudoun County reported 231 cases between July 7 and 13, an increase of 46 from the week before. Loudoun has had 1,426 cases and 1 death in the past 13 weeks, while Prince William County has seen two deaths and 1,597 cases in that time frame. Last week, there were 57 cases in Prince William, 20 more than the week before.
Stafford County reported 626 cases and two deaths and Spotsylvania County, 396 cases and one death during the 13-week period.
Arlington and Alexandria also have seen cases rising. In Arlington, 82 cases were reported between July 7 and 13, up from 54 the previous week. Alexandria saw 64 cases, 20 more than the week prior. In the past 13 weeks, Arlington and Alexandria saw 454 and 432 cases, respectively.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that infected people stay home for at least 24 hours after their fevers have broken and that they wear masks for five days after that. Vaccines are recommended by the CDC.
The latest variants of COVID-19 are known as FliRT variants, and are accounting for the majority of infections.
According to Andy Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, it may take five or more days to develop symptoms and people are contagious a day or two before you notice the symptoms.
Health officials continue to recommend COVID booster shots for older populations and people with compromised immune systems.
Feature image by BillionPhotos.com/stock.adobe.com
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