Area marks one more death, 326 new cases

Wise County reported 291 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 8,507 cases since spring 2020, compared to 8,216 cases four days earlier.
There were 281 county residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The county’s total number of deaths associated with COVID-19 increased by one, from 159 to 160.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton increased by 35, from 1,038 Thursday to 1,073 yesterday.
There were 37 city residents hospitalized with COVID as of yesterday.
The number of total deaths in the city remained at 20.

In Virginia, the highly contagious omicron variant continues to spread.

Statewide, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 1,081,269 Thursday to 1,103,675 yesterday, an increase of 22,406. The number of “probable” cases rose from 433,593 Thursday to 441,961 yesterday, an increase of 8,368.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 86 to 13,518. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 43 to 2,699.

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, 54 percent of Wise County residents and 64 percent of Norton residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to health department statistics.

Nearly 47 percent of county residents and nearly 54 percent of Norton residents have received a second dose.

Nearly 18 percent of county residents and nearly 22 percent of Norton residents have received a booster or third dose.

Former 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 had received a second dose.

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.