2 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Henrico as cases continue to rise

The average number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Henrico continues to rise, as the delta variant of the virus spreads. Henrico reported 120 new cases Wednesday and is now averaging 114 per day during the past seven days, according to Virginia Department of Health data. Forty of the new cases occurred in people in their 20s, while 30 occurred in those in their 30s.

Two new virus-related deaths among county residents also were reported by the VDH Wednesday, following one Tuesday. Wednesday’s reported victims were both white – one male and one female (one of whom was 50 to 59 and the other of whom was 80 or older), according to the VDH. Tuesday’s victim was a Black woman 80 or older.

Two more county residents were hospitalized (one 20 to 29 in age, the other 30 to 39) because of the virus, as well, bringing to 15 the number of Henricoans hospitalized in the past eight days with COVID. One person was Black, the other Latino, according to VDH data.

This month in Henrico, COVID is continuing to infect and hospitalize Black residents at a level disproportionate to their overall population.

Of the 31 Henricoans hospitalized this month with COVID, just more than half (16) have been Black, 10 have been white, 3 Latino and 2 another race, the data shows.

And of the nearly 2,100 confirmed COVID cases reported in the county this month, at least 699 (just more than one-third) occurred in Blacks, who comprise about 30% of the county’s population. Another 31% occurred in people who didn’t report their race, and about 27% occurred in whites, who comprise about half of the county’s population.

Only about 2% of cases this month have occurred among the county’s Latino population (which comprises about 6.6% of the overall population) and less than 2% have occurred in Asians or Pacific Islanders (who comprise nearly 10% of the total population).

Blacks, however, also are getting vaccinated this month at a higher rate than all other races in the county, data shows.

As of Aug. 25, more than 34% of the 9,220 county residents who received an initial dose of vaccine this month were Black. Whites accounted for about 29% of first doses in August, while Latinos comprised nearly 11%.

As of Aug. 21, the county’s seven-day positivity percentage among PCR testing encounters was 9.5% – the highest it’s been since Feb. 5, and just below the state average of 9.8%. Henrico’s positivity percentage among rapid testing encounters was 11.3% (well above the state’s average of 9.2%).

In total, an average of about 1,520 people are being tested for COVID each day in Henrico, about two-thirds of them through PCR tests.