Fairfax County now averaging over 300 Covid cases a day

The calendar may have turned a page, but COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County keep going up.

The Fairfax Health District, which also includes Fairfax and Falls Church cities, has added 812 cases over the past three days, according to the Virginia Department of Health, which didn’t report new cases on Saturday or Sunday (April 30-May 1).

The district is averaging 307 cases per day for the past week — nearly four times the 77.1 cases recorded on March 22, which remains the lowest weekly average of the year. The district last averaged over 300 cases on Feb. 11 (319.9 cases), as the pandemic’s winter surge was waning.

While hospitalizations are still relatively low, they have noticeably increased over the past month. Another 30 Fairfax County residents were admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 last week, a 23% increase from the previous seven days, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Friday (April 29).

Virginia’s northern region is averaging 60 hospitalizations per day for the week, a roughly 60% increase from three weeks ago.

In addition, four more district residents have died from COVID-19 since last week, bringing the overall death toll to 1,511 people, according to Fairfax County Health Department data. The district has recorded 186,954 cases and 4,484 hospitalizations.

While the BA.2 omicron subvariant has been the predominant Covid strain during this surge, the VDH reported on Friday that another, even more transmissible omicron subvariant, dubbed BA.2.12.1, “is beginning to make inroads” nationally, particularly in New York and the northeastern part of the U.S.

In a blog post last Tuesday (April 26), the county health department again urged community members to get vaccinated if they haven’t done so already.

“There are instances where some vaccinated people get COVID illness, but the disease will be milder and they will have a reduced chance of hospitalization,” the FCHD said. “Consider wearing a mask in indoor settings, avoiding crowds and taking other precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safer.”

More than three-quarters of Fairfax Health District residents — 76% or 898,938 people — are now considered fully vaccinated. That’s 1,312 more people than this time last week, and it includes 84.1% of all people aged 18 and older.

A total of 988,831 residents, or 83.5% of the population, has gotten at least one dose:

• 92.3% of adults
• 98.5% of 16-17 year olds
• 94.3% of 12-15 year olds
• 59.1% of 5-11 year olds

According to VDH, about 43.3% of county residents, or 498,156 people, have received a booster or third shot, including 52.8% of adults and 34.1% of adolescents aged 12-17.