Henrico's daily COVID case count reaching new highs, but increased testing keeps positivity percentage stable

Henrico reported 240 new cases of COVID-19 from Nov. 21-23 – 79 each day this weekend and 82 today – and is now averaging 80 new cases per day during the past seven days, according to the Virginia Department of Health. That total is just about double what it was eight days ago.

The county also witnessed five new hospitalizations related to the virus during the past three reporting days but no new deaths. During the past week, it’s experiencing an average of three new hospitalizations each day related to COVID but no new deaths.

The increase in confirmed cases appears to be aligned with a significant increase in testing that has taken place in the county during the past week or so. More than 1,360 people were being tested each day on average during a seven-day period from Nov. 13-19, according to the VDH; that total was up from about 820 per day from Nov. 2-8.

Henrico is third in the state in the number of tests conducted, with more than 153,000.

In total, Henrico now has reported 7,844 COVID cases, 564 related hospitalizations and 242 virus-related deaths.

Despite the higher case counts, the increased testing has helped to keep Henrico’s 7-day positivity percentage relatively stable. It fell slightly as of Nov. 19 to 5.2%.

– Will Gonzalez contributed to this article.