Virginia recorded its biggest increase in new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, as reported test results dropped significantly.
The number of new cases grew by 804 to reach 14,339, according to data provided by the Virginia Department of Health.
Meanwhile, the number of test results reported to the health department was cut almost in half compared to recent days. The state had been averaging about 4,000 test results for the last few days but Tuesday, the number dropped to 2,573. On Monday, Governor Ralph Northam touted the 4,000 number as "a good step forward" in the state's effort to average about 10,000 tests a day. Northam has also said the ratio of new, positive cases to reported test results needs to trend down for 14 days before the state can begin to ease restrictions on businesses and gatherings.
34 additional deaths were reported Tuesday morning, bringing the state's total to 492. The number of hospitalizations also grew to 2,165, an increase of 99.
The toll on health care workers
About a third of the 154 cases in the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District are health care workers, according to Doctor Molly O’Dell. "Most health care workers that are affected are female," she noted on Tuesday's conference call with reporters. "We have a larger percentage of women in some of these positions than men."
That’s resulted in a higher percentage of women in the Roanoke region with the illness—about 57% in the district that includes the Roanoke Valley and parts of the Alleghany Highlands. Statewide, about 51% of cases are women.
