Area sees 87 new COVID cases

Wise County saw 77 new COVID-19 cases between Monday and yesterday.

The county’s total number of COVID cases since spring 2020 increased from 11,451 to 11,528 in three days, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

However, the county’s total number of COVID-related deaths was revised down by two, from 205 to 203. The reason was not immediately available.

The health department’s cumulative positive case count for Norton increased by 10, from 1,452 to 1,462.

The number of total deaths in the city remained at 22.

The latest sub-variant of last year’s omicron variant is spreading rapidly, although death rates have slowed.

Statewide, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 1,382,418 Monday to 1,388,890 yesterday, an increase of 6,472. The number of cases deemed “probable” rose from 558,940 Monday to 561,928 yesterday, an increase of 2,988.
During the same period, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Virginia increased by 25 to 17,425. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by seven to 3,480.