Virginia COVID-19 Cases Grow As Experts Warn About Delta Variant

VIRGINIA — Positive cases of COVID-19 in Virginia are on the rise again as officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn the nation about the highly contagious Delta variant.

Virginia is reporting a seven-day moving average of 467 cases per day, a big jump from a month ago when the average number of cases had dropped to a pandemic low of 130 cases per day. The last time Virginia's seven-day moving case average stood at a similar level was in mid-May, about a month after all Virginians 16 and older had become eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

On Tuesday, the VDH reported 721 new cases of the coronavirus, followed by 678 new cases on Wednesday. The Tuesday count was the highest number of reported cases since May 8, when the VDH reported 779 positive cases in the state.

"CDC has released estimates of variants across the country and predicted the Delta variant represents 83 percent of sequenced cases," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a Senate hearing Tuesday. "This is a dramatic increase, up from 50 percent the week of July 3."

The Delta variant is at least two times more contagious than the original coronavirus.

In Virginia, data from the VDH still showed B.1.1.7, or the U.K. variant, as the most common variant as of last Friday, with the Delta variant making up only a small portion of cases. But health experts are predicting the Delta variant will become the dominant variant in the state in a few weeks.

Overall, the state has reported 686,884 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Virginia's seven-day average positivity rate has risen to 3.4 percent, up from a pandemic low of 1.4 percent only a month ago.

The pace of vaccinations in Virginia has slowed down dramatically in the last couple of months. Across the state, 53.3 percent of Virginians are fully vaccinated. Among adults in the state, 64.3 percent are fully vaccinated.

The VDH reported more than 99 percent of people testing positive in the state were unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.

“Over 99 percent of COVID-19 cases in Virginia have occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated," Virginia State Health Commissioner Norman Oliver M.D. said in a statement. "I applaud those who have chosen to protect themselves and the community by getting vaccinated, and we appreciate the work of all who are helping to vaccinate Virginians."

The VDH has switched from updating the cases and testing dashboard from daily to Monday through Friday only.

Local school districts will be able to determine their own mask and COVID-19 prevention measures for the upcoming school, according to state guidance released Wednesday.

Virginia officials, however, are making recommendations to local school divisions for the 2021-22 school year. Elementary schools should implement a requirement that students, teachers and staff wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, until vaccination is available for children under 12 years old, according to the state guidance.

At a minimum, middle and high schools should implement a requirement that students, teachers and staff who are not fully vaccinated wear masks indoors, the state guidance said.

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