The number of daily COVID-19 cases hit a new high in the Lynchburg area Monday.
The Virginia Department of Health reported 41 new cases in the Central Virginia Health District.
Doctors with Centra Health, the hospital system that serves the Lynchburg region, say they’re seeing the results. During a news conference Monday morning, doctors said they’ve seen the highest number of positive COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began.
Centra’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Chris Thomson, said many of the simple steps we took in March and April are still needed. "That is mask wearing is both protective and respectful. Maintaining social distance of at least six feet has been shown to be very beneficial of preventing community spread, or lessening community spread. And frequent handwashing is also helpful. So those three things have not gone away," Thomson explained.
There’s still plenty of capacity in Centra’s hospitals. Lynchburg General hospital had 24 COVID-19 patients, as of Monday morning. A dozen of those patients were in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. That's actually down from 16 at the end of last week.
But administrators say the challenge right now is balancing COVID-19 patients with other factors like backlogged routine care, slower testing turnarounds, and exhausted medical personnel.
