Va. reports more than 8,500 virus cases, 277 deaths

There are now more than 8,500 coronavirus cases in Virginia and another 19 deaths were reported overnight, bringing the statewide tally to 277, according to statistics released this morning by the Virginia Department of Health.

The number of cases, which includes people who have tested positive and those who are symptomatic with a known exposure to a coronavirus case, increased by nearly 500 from Saturday’s total. So far, at least 54,733 people have been tested in Virginia.

Throughout the state, roughly 1,300 coronavirus patients — confirmed COVID-19 patients and those awaiting test results — are hospitalized, according to data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare

Association. That count has remained about the same since the group started reporting numbers nearly two weeks ago — a good sign as the possibility of a surge in COVID-19 patients overwhelming hospitals was a key concern as the virus spread.

And 1,267 patients have been discharged from the hospital, the group reported.

Virginia Beach continues to have the largest number of reported cases in Hampton Roads, with 273. Chesapeake is next with 162; James City County, 141; Norfolk, 111; Newport News, 101; Hampton, 83; Portsmouth, 65; York, 44; Williamsburg, 19; and Poquoson has six.

The Hampton Roads Regional Jail also reported on Sunday that an in mate tested positive for C OVID -19, the first of the facility, said interim superintendent Christopher Walz in a statement. The person is now in medical isolation with flu-like symptoms and an “elevated temperature.” The staff who interacted with the inmate are now self-quarantining at home. Other inmates that resided in the same housing unit are under continuous monitoring by medical staff, Walz said.