Author: justincrow

Key Takeaways

• The CDC has retired COVID-19 Community Levels. Overall respiratory illness activity is stable near baseline levels.
• Virginia rescinded its COVID-19 PHE effective 12:00 AM May 12, coinciding with the end of the national PHE on May 11 Meanwhile, the WHO’s COVID-19 PHEIC ended on May 5, while the mpox PHEIC ended on May 11.
• Drug overdoses in Virginia have been increasing rapidly since 2013 due to fentanyl. The Governor’s Office has issued an executive order to deal with the ongoing opioid crisis.
• The San Francisco International Airport in partnership with the CDC has begun wastewater surveillance for incoming international flights for variants of COVID-19.

VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update.

UVA Biocomplexity Institute Slides.

VDH Surveillance Data Update.

This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.

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The VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update is produced by the VDH Office of Emergency Preparedness. This update covers ongoing or potential public health issues, including COVID-19. This product is intended to enhance situational awareness among the public health, healthcare, and emergency management communities. Some items covered may pose little or no threat to the public at large. For instance, an Ebola outbreak occurring outside of the United States would pose virtually no risk to Virginians, but emergency preparedness resources may be activated to coordinate efforts to monitor, quarantine, and potentially treat travelers arriving from affected countries. The update includes links to publicly available data and news sources. These items are included for situational awareness only and do not represent an endorsement of the source or information therein.

The VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update is produced by the VDH Office of Emergency Preparedness. This update covers ongoing or potential public health issues, including COVID-19. This product is intended to enhance situational awareness among the public health, healthcare, and emergency management communities. Some items covered may pose little or no threat to the public at large. For instance, an ebola outbreak occurring outside of the United States would pose virtually no risk to Virginians, but emergency preparedness resources may be activated to coordinate efforts to monitor, quarantine, and potentially treat travelers arriving from affected countries. The update includes links to publicly available data and news sources. These items are included for situational awareness only and do not represent an endorsement of the source or information therein.

Key Takeaways

• For the first time since the metric was created, all Virginia localities are at low COVID-19 Community Levels according to the CDC. Virginia also continues to be at “Low” influenza intensity levels, with 2 of 6 regions at “minimal” levels.
• COVID-19 and influenza hospital admissions continue to decrease. Nevertheless, there were 300 COVID-19 admissions in Virginia last week.
• WHO officials expect to end the public health emergency of international concern for COVID-19 sometime this year.
• The CDC and VDH are warning of a concerning rise in C. Auris and CPOs cases, including outbreaks in health facilities. C. Auris has been detected in every region of Virginia.
• The IPCC’s latest report outlined the current impacts of climate change and warned of the growing risks associated with continued warming.

VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update.

VDH Surveillance Data Update.

This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.

NOTE: This week’s update marks the transition from the “UVA COVID-19 Modeling Weekly Update” to the “VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update” produced by the VDH Office of Emergency Preparedness (See the March 3 Weekly Report). COVID-19 remains a central feature of this update but other ongoing or potential public health issues are also covered. This product is intended to enhance situational awareness among the public health, healthcare, and emergency management communities. Some items covered may pose little or no threat to the public at large. For instance, an ebola outbreak occurring outside of the United States would pose virtually no risk to Virginians, but emergency preparedness resources may be activated to coordinate efforts to monitor, quarantine, and potentially treat travelers arriving from affected countries. The update includes links to publicly available data and news sources. These items are included for situational awareness only and do not represent an endorsement of the source or information therein.

Key Takeaways

• More than 97% of Virginians reside in localities at low COVID-19 community levels. Virginia is now at “Low” influenza intensity levels. Nationally influenza activity has plateaued just below the national baseline at 2.4% while Virginia is at 3%.
• COVID-19 and influenza hospital admissions continue to decrease. Nevertheless, there were 355 COVID-19 admissions in Virginia last week.
• Norovirus test positivity remains high despite a dip in the Southern Region last week. The national 3-week test positivity rate is at 16.5% compared to the Southern region’s 15.6%.
• Thirteen cases of invasive meningococcal disease type Y have been reported since June 2022 in the Virginia Eastern Region.
• Norfolk has the highest rate of sea level rise on the East Coast according to VIMS’ Sea Level Report Card.

VDH OEP Weekly Situation Update.

UVA Biocomplexity Institute Slides.

VDH Surveillance Data Update.

This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.

Key Takeaways

• Weekly case rates continue to decline. As of March 7, the seven-day average of daily reported cases is 7.5 per 100k. The daily average has not been above 10 per 100k since November of 2022.
• For the second week in a row, not a single county or city is reporting high CDC COVID-1919 community levels. Over 97% of Virginians reside in localities at low community levels. Ten localities with 218,000 residents are reporting medium community levels. High-risk individuals in these areas should wear a mask in indoor public places
• Hospital admissions are also declining, and have dropped 13% week-over-week. However, Virginia is still experiencing over 400 hospital admissions per week. As of March 9, there were 368 people in Virginia hospitals with COVID-19 as the primary diagnosis, including 53 in the ICU and 22 on ventilators. Although COVID-19 continues to decline, COVID-19 still has the potential to cause severe disease, particularly among seniors and those with comorbidities.
• XBB.1.5 remains the dominant variant in HHS Region 3, which includes Virginia. While there is a large mix of variants circulating globally, none have shown concerning characteristics.

VDH Weekly Modeling Report.

UVA Biocomplexity Institute Slides.

VDH Surveillance Data Update.

This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.

NOTE: Due to the holiday schedule, the update is abbreviated this week. UVA Biocomplexity Institute slides will resume on January 20. Additionally, COVID-19 scenario projection updates are paused. Foresight work will focus on genomic surveillance, short-term forecasts, and respiratory disease risks. Scenario projections will be incorporated into slides and the modeling report when warranted (e.g., a new variant of concern emerges). Modeling dashboards will remain up, but will not be updated until new projections are created, and links have been removed from this post.

Key Takeaways

• The Commonwealth continues to see sustained growth in weekly case rates. The seven-day average is now 28.3 per 100k. This is up 68% in the last month.
• Fifty-seven counties and cities are reporting high COVID-19 community levels. Up from 19 two weeks ago. The CDC recommends residents of these areas wear masks when in indoor public places. Another 46 locales are at medium community levels. The CDC recommends masking for high-risk individuals in these areas.
• Hospital occupancy is continuing to grow. There are now 1067 Virginians currently hospitalized for COVID-19. This is the highest value seen since February 24, 2022. Of these, 141 are in the Intensive Care Unit, and 38 are on mechanical ventilators. All three metrics are up more than 65% since this time last month.
• BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are still the dominant variants, but they are losing ground. XBB and XBB.1.5 cases are surging, and together account for almost 40% of new cases. We expect them to become the dominant subvariants in the coming weeks.
• The new XBB subvariants can infect those with prior immunity. They are also extremely infectious. Bolstered by winter weather and holiday travel, XBB is expected to cause another surge. Please consider getting your bivalent COVID-19 boosters if you haven’t already. Also please continue to practice good prevention.

VDH Weekly Modeling Report.

VDH Surveillance Data Update.

This page updates weekly on Friday by 5:00 PM.