Alexandria Moves To Medium COVID Community Level: City

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria has moved from a low to medium level of COVID-19, according to the city government. Alexandria will join Arlington County, which moved from low to medium last week.

In a news release, the city announced the change to the COVID-19 community level, which is not yet reflected in the CDC's data tracker. The CDC metrics are typically updated weekly on Thursdays. The Alexandria Health Department's dashboard with the community levels metrics will be updated to reflect the medium level Friday.

Community levels — low, medium and high — are determined by three factors: new weekly hospital admissions, inpatient bed use, and new cases in the last week. All data is based per 100,000 people. A medium level means there are at least 200 cases per 100,000 people in the last week but new weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 below 10 and inpatient beds in use by COVID-19 patients below 10 percent. A high level would indicate cases are at least 200 with new weekly hospital admissions above 10 per 100,000 people and inpatient bed use by COVID-19 patients above 10 percent.

The change from low to medium was due to weekly cases per 100,000 topping 200. Before the transition from low to medium, Alexandria's weekly cases per 100,000 people were just below 200. There was no notable change in the two hospital metrics. Weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 are considered low at 1.5, and inpatient bed use by COVID-19 patients is also low at 0.9 percent.

Under a low COVID-19 community level, CDC recommends keeping up to date with the COVID-19 and boosters, getting tested when experiencing symptoms, wearing a mask when experiencing symptoms, a positive test, exposure, or on public transportation. Residents may choose to wear a mask at any time for added protection.

The guidance is largely the same under a medium COVID-19 community level. The only additional guidance is masking indoors and taking extra precautions for those who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

If testing is needed, request free at-home tests at covidtests.gov, buy a test at a pharmacy and submit a claim to your insurance, or pick up a test at participating Alexandria Library locations. PCR testing options can be found in Alexandria by visiting alexandriava.gov/COVIDtesting.