Two deaths, 125 new cases

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wise County increased by 125 between Aug. 31 and Wednesday.

The Virginia Department of Health reported Wednesday morning that the county’s total confirmed cases in the months since the pandemic began had risen to 12,805 — up from 12,680 one week earlier.

The number of Wise County COVID-19 deaths increased by two, from 205 to 207.

A new sub-variant of last year’s omicron variant is proving to be highly contagious, according to public health officials. However, fatality and hospitalization rates are not as high.

Statewide, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 1,448,035 Aug. 31 to 1,457,233 Wednesday, an increase of 9,198. The number of “probable” cases in Virginia rose from 592,071 Aug. 31 to 596,997 yesterday, an increase of 4,926.
During the same period, the number of confirmed deaths increased by 90 to 17,916. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 23 to 3,613.