I don’t want to fan the flames of false hope, but the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health is consistent with the idea that Virginia at long last, is flattening the curve. We may not have reached peak virus spread, but we could be close to it, as seen in John Butcher’s graph above.
The graph below is how I was planning to lead this post before John’s daily update arrived in my inbox. John’s presentation may not have a cute coronavirus kitty wearing a face mask, but it is much more revealing so, sniff, sniff, I had to relegate my graph to second place.
Here’s our daily data summary. At Carol Bova’s suggestion, I have added two new data points: The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s latest count of “bed availability” and its count of the total number of COVID-19 patients, either confirmed or being tested.
COVID-19 spread
Total tests: 41,401, up 1,416
Total confirmed cases: 5,747, up 473 from the previous day
% tests positive: 33.4% yesterday
Total hospitalizations: 903, up 31 from the previous day
Total deaths: 148, up seven
Hospital capacity
Available beds: 5,970
Currently hospitalized: 765, up 14
ICUs in use: 428, down 12
Ventilators in use: 303, up eight
Update: The VHHA just added a new data point — total discharges of confirmed COVID-19 patients. The number published this morning is 467.
— JAB
