Virus rates are declining across Virginia and we’re starting to see more localities in Southwest and especially Southside fall into the “low” infection rate category, according to an analysis of federal data by The Daily Yonder, a website that cover rural issues. On the other hand, eight of the 10 localities with the highest infection rates in Virginia are in Southwest Virginia and rates are rising in six of those eight.
Here are the localities in Virginia with the highest infection rates for the week ending November 6, as measured on a cases per 100,000 population basis:
- Buchanan County 528.5, up from 295.2
- Norton 527.5, up from 326.6
- Fairfax (city) 462.1, up from 16.7
- Bland County 429.9, up from 207.0
- Wise County 326.4, down from 420.0
- Galax 315.1, down from 362.4
- Scott County 306.0, up from 245.8
- Grayson County 302.3, up from 154.3
- Carroll County 302.1, up from 208.1
- Falls Church 301.0, up from 13.7
- Patrick County 278.3, up from 249.9
- Buena Vista 277.9, down from 602.0
- Martinsville 270.8, unchanged
- Wythe County 258.0, down from 285.9
- Greensville County 238.2, up from 105.9
Last week, five localities in Southside (Brunswick County, Cumberland County, Hopewell, Southampton County and Sussex County) showed up in the “low” category as well as one in Southwest (Montgomery County). This week, we see Brunswick’s rate rise again, but other localities fall into the low category. Lunenburg County, Nottoway County, Prince Edward all fall into the low category. So does Lynchburg. In the Alleghany Highlands, Bath County, Highland County and Covington all drop into “low.” And so does Russell County in Southwest Virginia. Russell’s drop is noteworthy because a month ago it ranked as the 6th most infected locality in the state. It’s rate has gone from 575.5 per 100,000 in early October to just 94 per 100,000 now. Bath County’s drop is even more impressive. For the week ending Oct. 23, Bath had the highest infection rates in the state at 554.6. Now it’s fallen to the third lowest, with a rate of just 24.1 On the other hand, two localities in Northern Virginia — Fairfax and Falls Church — show how easy it is to be lulled into a false sense of security. They have usually ranked among the lowest infection rates in the state. Last week they both had spikes that put them among the most infected.
Here are the least infected localities in Virginia for the week ending Nov. 6, with cases measured on a rate per 100,000 population basis.
- Hopewell and Petersburg and Richmond County 0.00. Hopewell down from 71.0, Petersburg down from 149.9. Richmond County down from 22.2
- Cumberland County 10.1, down from 90.6
- James City County 15.7, down from 137.2
- Bath County 24.1, down from 361.7
- Williamsburg 26.7, down from 127.1
- Middlesex County 37.8, down from 75.6
- Southampton County 39.7, down from 85.1
- Fairfax County 40.4, down from 50.6
- Goochland County 42.1, down from 126.3
- Northampton County 42.7, down from 59.8
- Gloucester 42.8, down from 91.0
- Lynchburg 43.8, down from 107.1
- Mathews 45.3, down from 124.5
- Lancaster County 47.2, down from 84.9
- Lunenburg County 49.2, down from 229.6
- Northumberland County 57.9, down from 107.5
- Arlington County 60.0, down from 73.9
- Loudoun County 67.5, down from 74.0
- Charlottesville 69.8, up from 61.4
- King and Queen County 71.2, down from 185.1
- Virginia Beach 73.8, down from 85.1
- Prince Edward County 74.6, down from 105.3
- Montgomery County 80.2, down from 99.5
- Accomack County and Albemarle County 80.5, Accomack down from 133.1, Albemarle down from 104.3
- Greene County 80.7, down from 90.8
Generally speaking, the most-vaccinated localities have the lowest infection rates while the least-vaccinated localities have the highest. You can view the Daily Yonder’s interactive map here. It’s data runs through Nov. 6. The Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard has more updated data, along with vaccination rates for each locality.