Area marks 168 cases, one additional death

Wise County reported 141 new COVID-19 cases between Jan. 6 and yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

As of Monday, the county had reported a total of 6,941 cases since spring 2020, compared to 6,800 cases four days earlier.

There were 267 county residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.

The county’s total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 increased by one, from 147 to 148.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton increased by 27, from 798 Thursday to 825 yesterday.

There were 37 city residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The number of total deaths in the city remained at 20.

In Virginia, new case rates are exploding as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads. However, the rate of additional fatalities appears to be slowing.

Statewide, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 863,214 Thursday to 915,575 yesterday, an increase of 52,361. The number of “probable” cases rose from 339,513 Thursday to 363,164 yesterday, an increase of 23,651.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 24 to 13,086. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by five to 2,585.

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 54 percent of Wise County residents and 63 percent of Norton residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department statistics.

Forty-six percent of county residents and 53 percent of Norton residents have received a second dose.

About 16 percent of county residents and 20 percent of Norton residents have received a booster or third dose.

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 had received a second 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.