Virginia colleges prep for Spring semester, VSU spends $2.8 million on COVID-19 safety upgrades

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Here’s the latest coronavirus update from the Virginia Department of Health for Saturday, Jan. 16:

Virginia is reporting a huge spike in the number of new cases and deaths. After reporting just over 4,700 new cases on Friday, Virginia Department of Health is reporting 6,757 new cases and 50 new deaths on Saturday.

The total number of Virginians who have lost their lives to COVID-19 is 5,706 — 5,016 confirmed and 690 probable.

Currently, there are 429,391 COVID-19 cases in the state. A total of 2,135 outbreaks have contributed to 51,590 COVID-19 cases in the state.

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The positivity rate has been decreasing slightly this week and is now at 14.7 percent.

According to the Virginia Hospitals and Healthcare Association, 35,095 COVID-19 patients were discharged from the hospital. Currently, there are 2,792 patients in the hospital who either have COVID-19 or have pending test results. Of those patients, 561 are in the ICU and 354 are on a ventilator.

Vaccine summary for Virginia
VDH is reporting that 295,202 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Jan. 16, with a total of 943,400 vaccine doses distributed.

A total of 32,059 people have been fully vaccinated in Virginia. A majority of the people fully vaccinated are in the 30-39 age group.

Testing locations near you
CHESTERFIELD

Mondays: Jan. 18 and 25 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Second Baptist Church, 5100 West Hundred Road.
Wednesdays: Jan. 20 and 27 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 4400 Beulah Road.
Saturday, Jan. 23 – 10 a.m. to noon. Chesterfield Health Department, 9501 Lucy Corr Circle
RICHMOND

Richmond and Henrico district residents can call the COVID-19 hotline to register at (804) 205-3501.
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except major holidays.

Click here to find a test near you.

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COVID-19 at local universities
Virginia Commonwealth University

As of Jan. 15, the college has reported:

81 active student cases and 32 active employee cases of COVID-19.
3 students are in isolation on campus.
4 students are in quarantine on campus.
University of Richmond

As of Jan. 15, here is what the college has reported:

14 active cases of COVID-19.
The total positivity rate for December is 3.9 percent
James Madison University

The university’s dashboard as of Jan. 14 shows that:

23 total (students and employees) active cases.
1,771 people have recovered from the virus since July.
Read about one JMU student’s experience with COVID-19 here.
Local COVID-19 cases
Charles City County: 276 cases, 9 deaths
Chesterfield County: 15,769 cases, 193 deaths
City of Colonial Heights: 775 cases, 30 deaths
City of Hopewell: 1,180 cases, 12 deaths
City of Petersburg: 1,869 cases, 35 deaths
City of Richmond: 11,059 cases, 118 deaths
Dinwiddie County: 1,186 cases, 17 deaths
Goochland County: 817 cases, 7 deaths
Hanover County: 4,947 cases, 83 deaths
Henrico County: 15,557 cases, 316 deaths
New Kent County: 850 cases, 7 deaths
Powhatan County: 1,114 cases, 6 deaths
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