The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke area continued to grow over the past week, though not as dramatically as some other parts of the state.
The director of the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District, Dr. Cynthia Morrow, reported 715 new cases over the past week, up from 671 the week before. After falling last week, the number of district residents hospitalized for complications related to COVID-19 jumped up to 48. Morrow said one of those people is under the age of 18 and another is over the age of 100.
Thirty percent of the new COVID-19 cases are under the age of 24 and 20% are under the age of 18, according to Morrow. "This wave, this surge is clearly disproportionately impacting our children. And it’s really important that we do everything in our power to protect our children and do everything in our power to allow them to continue in-person classes."
The district, which includes the cities of Roanoke and Salem as well as the counties of Botetourt, Alleghany, Craig and Roanoke, added seven COVID-19 related deaths. The total now stands at 520.
