Positivity rate decreases to 10.1% | Over 4,200 new COVID cases reported in 24 hours

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - More than 4,200 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours with the testing positivity rate increasing.

The Virginia Department of Health is reporting 827,197 total cases of COVID-19 across the commonwealth as of Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, dating to the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

The delta variant is continuing to cause COVID-19 cases to surge across the country and Virginia. On Friday, 4,212 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Virginia.

NOTE: VDH is now only updating the cases and testing dashboard Monday through Friday.

If you would like to see a breakdown of cases among vaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated people, click here.

Since the pandemic began, 12,242 deaths have been reported, with 35 reported in the last 24 hours.

Currently, there are 2,174 patients hospitalized including those with pending coronavirus tests. That data is from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

The 7-day testing positivity rate, however, decreased from 10.6% to 10.1%.

Here’s an explanation of Virginia’s positivity rate.

There are a total of 4,369 outbreaks that have happened since the pandemic began. More than 83,503 total COVID-19 cases in Virginia have been associated with an outbreak. VDH requires at least two confirmed cases to classify as an outbreak.

VDH continues to track testing: 8,979,149 COVID-19 tests have been administered in the state. The department has a website designated for locating COVID-19 testing sites, view it here.

To view NBC12′s latest COVID-19 coverage, click here.

Central VA Case Highlights:

• Chesterfield: 35,523 cases, 1,113 hospitalizations, 481 deaths
• Henrico: 31,422 cases, 1,211 hospitalizations, 668 deaths
• Richmond: 21,696 cases, 895 hospitalizations, 293 deaths
• Hanover: 10,373 cases, 350 hospitalizations, 181 deaths
• Petersburg: 4,786 cases, 192 hospitalizations, 96 deaths
• Goochland: 1,780 cases, 64 hospitalizations, 27 deaths

High COVID Transmission in Central VA

All of Central Virginia is seeing high levels of transmission, according to the VDH. The department tracks transmissions on its website, updated weekly on Mondays.

The latest map from VDH shows nearly 100% of Virginia localities as high transmission levels, aside from two localities in northern Virginia.

In the City of Richmond, the rate of new cases is 289 per 100,000 people for the week of Sept. 5-11. View the VDH map here.

Projected peaks

The University of Virginia continues to map the projected peak of COVID-19 cases through the COVID-19 Model Explorer.

The model allows users to view projected cases by metro area or statewide. It also includes several scenarios, including the delta variant and the delta variant with “optimistic” vaccine rates. Other control scenarios assume transmission rates will match the highest rates seen during the summer and fall of 2020.

“Recent case declines are promising, but the unvaccinated population is large enough to make a resurgence possible. With the Delta Variant of Concert now dominant in Virginia, a resurgence seems likely,” the model states.

The model states Richmond may see another peak with cases reaching 4,800 per week during the week ending Oct. 3. This figure could be as low as 2,100 or as high as 8,600.

According to the model, Virginia may see a peak of 34,000 cases per week during the week ending in Sept. 26. This figure could be as low as 15,000 or as high as 64,000.

View the model at this link.

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