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Only about half of 1 percent of all Henrico residents have been tested for COVID-19 to date, but slightly more than 30 percent of them have tested positive, according to new data released today by the Virginia Department of Health.
In total, 1,965 Henricoans have been tested and 598 have been confirmed to have the virus. Henrico ranks 10th among health districts in the state in terms of the number of residents tested, although several of those districts contain multiple jurisdictions, while Henrico’s includes only the county.
Henrico leads the state in deaths confirmed by the VDH from COVID-19 with 72 (49 of which are related to the outbreak at Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in the West End). Henrico Health Director Danny Avula Friday put the Henrico death count at 74, so a lag time in reporting is evident.
Though it’s unknown how many of those from Henrico who have been tested are residents of nursing homes and senior communities – of which Henrico has 41 – that number is likely to be significant, which likely skews the data somewhat.
in Henrico, 83 people are hospitalized with the virus, and there are six outbreaks (all at nursing homes or senior communities), according to the VDH. Statewide, 1,500 people are hospitalized with the virus; Virginia hospitals have more than 6,000 beds, according to Virginia Health Commissioner Norm Oliver.
Virginia has reported a decline in new cases three consecutive days, though the total case count continues to rise. At his afternoon press briefing, Governor Ralph Northam said the primary virus model that state officials are following predicts a peak in the state later this week.
Northam said he and other state officials hope that Virginians can get back to work soon but said cases would need to show a decline for 14 straight days (criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control) before that can become a realistic option.
“Each day we have more cases than we have had as the baseline,” Northam said. “That curve is still going up. It hasn’t made that plateau and started to come down.
“I want our business to be able to be open again and people to get back to work, but we have to do it in a safe manner, and testing is the key to those next steps.”
Testing in the state still is not at the level Northam and others would like to see – primarily because of a shortage of chemical reagents, swabs and personal protective equipment for those administering the tests, he said. During a phone conversation today with Northam and other governors, Vice President Mike Pence implied that the federal government understands the shortages and is working to acquire and disperse the items to states with the greatest need, Northam said.
Also during that call, Northam said, Pence reiterated a message from President Trump, encouraging Americans to adopt the “One team, one mission” mantra in dealing with the virus. That message runs counter to several of Trump’s recent Tweets, in which he encouraged residents of several states including Virginia to “liberate” their states.
“[W]e’re getting some mixed messages from the White House,” Northam said. “On one had, we have these criteria [from the CDC] that we agree with. . . and two days later, we see Tweets that say to Liberate Virginia. What this has done, it has I guess entitled folks to have protests, not only in Virginia but in other states. I would remind Virginians to remember one team, one mission. I am just an anxious as anybody else out there to ease these restrictions.”
While saying he supported the First Amendment rights of those who choose to protest, Northam cited a protest event at the State Capitol last week as disappointing because he saw several dozen adults in close quarters without masks and a number of children on picnic blankets “probably six inches apart.”
“These individuals that are out protesting that are not following the guidelines of social distancing and wearing facial protection are literally putting themselves at risk, they’re putting all of us at risk, and I guess most importantly what bothers me. . . they’re putting our health providers at risk and their families.”
Another protest is scheduled Wednesday.
