Henrico reports 13 new COVID-related hospitalizations

For the second time in eight days, Henrico has reported 13 new COVID-19-related hospitalizations on a single day. The latest occurrence came Thursday, according to the Virginia Department of Health, a week to the day after it last occurred.

The county also reported two new virus-related deaths Thursday, as well as 76 new cases (up from 48 March 17).

Henrico is now averaging 59 new daily cases during the past week. The county has experienced 180 reported outbreaks, with almost 3,500 associated cases, according to VDH data. Henrico's health district has the third most reported outbreaks in the state, following Fairfax and Richmond.

As of March 14, Henrico has seen differing positivity rates among its two main testing methods: PCR and antigen rapid tests. PCR tests have yielded a seven-day positivity rate of 5 percent, with the percentage generally decreasing steadily during the past two months. An average of just more than 1,000 PCR tests are being conducted each day in the county.

On the other hand, rapid antigen tests have yielded an average positivity rate approaching 7 percent in recent days, among an average of nearly 400 tests daily.

Testing information lags behind a few days to include as many encounters as possible.

– Madyson Fitzgerald contributed to this article