After a delay in reporting, data from the Virginia Department of Health shows a continued decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases.
The health department did not update its COVID-19 dashboard Wednesday due to a technical issue, it said.
Two days worth of data was published Thursday morning, showing an increase of 1,314 cases over the two days. 729 new cases were added to the state's tally Wednesday and 585 Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 21,570. The daily number of new reported cases has generally been trending down since Friday's record high of 1,055.
56 additional deaths were reported over the two-day period, bringing the state's total to 769.
8,560 new test results were added to the database over the two-day period, bringing the total to 136,558.
Data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association has shown a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization over the last few days. The number of patients requiring a ventilator has been relatively flat, though.
Richmond mayor says reopening should be slow
Virginia's Governor has said local leaders may choose to keep additional restrictions in place as the state begins to re-open late next week. That means the re-opening may look different in different parts of the state.
Speaking Thursday afternoon, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney says he'll wait to see the Governor's orders before making any Richmond-specific decisions. "Here's what I don't want to see. I don't think we're ready for bowling alleys to be open yet, you know? I don't think folks are ready to crowd into areas. I don't see mass gatherings happening again," Stoney said. "This has to be slow."
As Thursday, 17 people in the Richmond City Health District have died from COVID-19. There are more than 450 reported cases, including 12 positive cases among the city's workforce.
