Three deaths, 188 new COVID cases reported

Wise County reported 188 new COVID-19 cases between Oct. 12 and yesterday.

According to Virginia Department of Health statistics, the county’s total number of cases since spring 2020 was 12,861 as of yesterday, compared to 12,673 one week earlier.

However, both numbers are a significant reduction in reported county cases compared to recent previous weeks.

Health department officials explained last week that case counts and COVID death counts have been revised in recent weeks as they have worked to verify whether each reported statistic represented someone who actually lives in Wise County or Norton.

As of yesterday, the health department reported the county’s total of COVID deaths as 211, or three more than reported one week earlier.

Statewide, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began rose from 1,486,712 Oct. 12 to 1,491,056 Wednesday, an increase of 4,344. The number of “probable” cases in Virginia rose from 613,763 Oct. 12 to 616,745 yesterday, an increase of 2,982.
During the same period, the number of confirmed deaths increased by 63 to 18,343. The number of probable COVID-19 deaths increased by 13 to 3,734.