Local virus rates steady; not so in state

Today, Gov. Ralph Northam intends to provide details about the first phase of reopening Virginia’s economy.

During his daily COVID-19 virus emergency briefing Wednesday, the governor said he would discuss phase one specifics at the Friday afternoon briefing.

Also Wednesday, Northam noted that virus hospitalization rates have remained stable.

Phase one ongoing restrictions of activity are regarded as minimum requirements. Virginia will allow localities to implement tougher requirements if they choose, the governor said. His office will work with areas such as northern Virginia with high concentrations of positive cases.

As of Thursday, the COVID-19 case numbers for Wise County had not changed in seven days.

The Virginia Department of Health still reported 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county, with one death and nine hospitalizations.

The confirmed case number for Norton remained at two.

Statewide case numbers continued to rise compared to Monday’s statistics. As of Thursday, 136,558 people had been tested, an increase of nearly 17,500 over three days. There were 21,570 confirmed cases, an increase of nearly 2,900. The number of deaths was 769, an increase of 109. Hospitalizations stood at 2,955, an increase of 328.