UPDATE: April 24, 2020
The Virginia Department of Health website shows 12 cases of COVID-19 in Appomattox County as of today. However, there are no hospitalizations or deaths reported among those numbers.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: April 11, 2020
The number of positive COVID-19 coronavirus tests continues to climb in Appomattox County, albeit at a slow rate so far according to population size.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports seven cases of the virus in the county as of Tuesday night, the same number as Saturday.
VDH reports one is a female in her 50s, two are males in their 50s, and another is a male in his 20s. Information regarding the other three cases was not specific, but Kerry Gateley, M.D., director of the Central Virginia Health District said that overall there is a mix of males and females, with slightly more females, ranging from the 20s to 70s in age. Both household and community transmissions of the virus have been observed in the county.
United States Census Bureau estimates show the 2018 population of Appomattox County as being just under 16,000.
As of Tuesday, VDH reports 42,763 people have been tested statewide, with 6,171 positive cases, 978 hospitalizations and 154 deaths in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Fairfax County leads the state with 1,207 total cases.
On April 8, Central Virginia Health District reported the first death of an individual in the district of someone who had contracted COVID-19.
The latest coronavirus statistics may be found at www.vdh.virginia.gov/ coronavirus.
Some good news coming out of Richmond suggests that social distancing mandates since mid-March have slowed down the spread of the virus, according to models presented by Gov. Ralph Northam in partnership with researchers associated with the RAND Corporation and the University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute.
The report states that although current data is limited, trends indicate that bed capacity across Virginia should be able to handle people who need hospitalization for the immediate future.
However, the models also suggest that lifting social distancing mandates too early may kickstart the virus to spread again.
“We are proud to be working with some of the top minds in the country on these projections,” Northam said in his statement. “While the data is limited, we can draw a few key conclusions: First, social distancing is important, and it’s working in Virginia. Second, while we continue to work closely with our hospital systems and other health care partners to prepare for a potential surge in acute cases, we are optimistic about our statewide hospital bed capacity. Finally, it’s clear we need to be responsible about how we ease restrictions, so we can keep Virginians safe and protect public health.”
“From the beginning, Gov. Northam has made it clear that everything we do must be grounded in science, public health expertise, and data,” Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey, M.D., said. “These models change every day, but we can use various models to help inform a range of outcomes we may be facing so we can make sure that Virginia is ready for all possible scenarios. Like every other state and many other countries, we are preparing for how we can move forward in a way that does not trigger another medical surge.”
If you want more content like this, pick up the Times Virginian newspaper or subscribe at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to view the e-edition version.
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