Area marks another 68 cases, two more deaths

Wise County reported 55 new COVID-19 cases between last Thursday and yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

As of Monday, the county had reported a total of 6,150 cases since spring 2020, compared to 6,095 cases four days earlier.
There were 244 county residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The county’s total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 increased by two, from 132 to 134.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton increased by 13, from 682 Thursday to 695 yesterday.
There were 35 city residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The number of total deaths in the city remained at 17.

In Virginia, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 728,989 Thursday to 734,937 yesterday, an increase of 5,948. The number of “probable” cases rose from 262,232 Thursday to 265,757 yesterday, an increase of 3,525.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 59 to 12,547. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 30 to 2,410.

To look at the health department’s data, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov and go to the COVID-19 Data and Resources section.

VACCINATION RATES

As of yesterday, nearly 53 percent of Wise County residents and nearly 62 percent of Norton residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department statistics.

About 45 percent of county residents and about 51 percent of Norton residents are fully vaccinated.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Nov. 12 that more than 83 percent of Virginia adults had received at least one dose, while 75 percent of adults are fully vaccinated.

Guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifies that those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated should continue to wear masks, practice physical distancing and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.