Key Takeaways
- Weekly case rates have declined in the last two weeks. As of January 24, the 7-day average of daily cases is 17.65 per 100k. This is down 33% in two weeks. Statewide case rates are now similar to those of early December.
- Twelve counties and cities are reporting high COVID19 community levels. This represents about 230,000 Virginians (2.7% of the population). The CDC suggests that residents of these areas wear masks when in indoor public places. Another 63 areas (covering 2.74 million Virginians) are reporting medium community levels. High-risk individuals in these areas should also wear a mask in public.
- Hospitalization trends continue to decline gradually. The 7-day moving average of new admissions is 769. This is down 22% in a fortnight. ICU occupancy and ventilator supported patient numbers are also down slightly.
- CDC models suggest that the XBB.1.5 subvariant is continuing to outpace its peers. It is now responsible for an estimated 73% of new cases in Virginia.
- XBB.1.5 does not cause more severe illness than other variants. But it is better able to cause reinfections among those with natural immunity. A new CDC study shows that the bivalent COVID19 booster is about as effective against XBB.1.5 as it was against the BA.5 variant. Please consider getting yours if you haven’t already.
- Note that this is an interim week report. Models were last run on 2023-01-16. The next modeling update will be 2023-01-30 for release the following Friday.
This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.