Governor Ralph Northam said "the big picture is that we are making progress," though Friday's increase in testing may not be as dramatic as it appears.
The Virginia Department of Health websitereported 14,805 new test results Friday, up from about 5,500 the day before. State officials said part of that increase was due to a change in methodology from counting individuals to counting individual tests. In his afternoon news briefing, Governor Ralph Northam said the actual number of tests conducted in the previous 24 hours was about 5,800. That's still the highest number reported to the state database since the crisis began.
The number of positive COVID-19 cases was also a new high for the state. Friday's increase of 1,055 cases brings the state's total to 16,901. The ratio of posive cases to new test results, called "percent positive," is one of the pieces of data state officials are monitoring to determine if restrictions can be relaxed. The state's "percent positive" has been hovering between 15 and 20 percent recently.
29 additional deaths were reported Friday, bringing the state's total to 581.
The health department reported 94 additional hospitalizations Friday, bringing the state's total to 2,416. But separate tracking maintained by the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association actually showed a decrease in hospitalizations and the number of patients on ventilators.
Northam and Dr. Karen Remley gave a more detailed explanation of the state's testing capacity and strategy. Remley said by the end of Friday, Virginia will increase its lab capacity by 3,000 tests a day by contracting with two private labs in Virginia and one in North Carolina. Remley said the state is now able to consistently conduct about 5,000 tests a day and is moving steadily to 10,000 a day.
Northam has been under increasing pressure to explain why Virginia's testing is among the lowest in the country. Only about 2,500 test results were reported into the state database on Tuesday and Wednesday, a far cry from the 10,000 daily test results state officials have set as a target.
Northam also said Friday that the state is constructing three large-scale personal protective equipment decontamination units. One is close to completion in the Blacksburg area and will be shared with West Virginia.
Health department presents more detailed data
The Virginia Department of Health also redesigned its COVID-19 dashboard to present more detailed data. Additional demographics and geographic information are now available for COVID-19 cases.
The health department said it was also working to present data at zip code level, though that was not included in Friday's redesign.
Calls for regional approach to reopening
Many businesses and government officials in the southwest part of the state are pressing Governor Northam to consider a regional reopening plan.
During a news conference Friday morning, Roanoke County supervisors chairman David Radford said Southwest Virginia is experiencing a disproportionate economic toll because COVID-19 is not as prevalent there. "We urge the governor to measure our region differently and give us the opportunity to reopen under careful, controlled conditions."
Northam has indicated recently that he would consider reopening parts of the state that have been hit less severely, but has not announced any final decision. Northam said he would have more details about plans for reopening in Monday's briefing. He noted that in some states, Phase One reopening looks like what Virginia is already doing: allowing non-emergency medical procedures and opening beaches for exercise.
Senator Mark Warner said Thursday that Virginia should consider a regional approach to reopening.
