As of Monday (May 23), two more residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 190. The number of cases has climbed to 33,764, an increase of 836 cases since this time last week.
The seven-day average of cases is now 119.4, up from 98.7 last week and 78.6 at the beginning of the month. The seven-day positivity rate for Covid tests is 15.2%, up from 14.7% last week and 12.4% as reported in the first days of May.
May is now the second worst month of the year for new Covid cases, with 2,159 cases reported. January saw the most-ever cases with 12,822 reported, followed by a steep drop to 1,227 cases in February. There were only 593 cases reported in March, and 1,488 new cases in April.
While the number of Covid infections escalates, Alexandria residents should protect themselves by wearing face masks and staying up to date on their vaccinations. Those are among the recommendations that the Alexandria Health Department is now making, in addition to staying home, and staying in well-ventilated areas.
“The City of Alexandria, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties have all experienced increased COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, placing the entire region in the CDC’s medium COVID-19 community level,” AHD said in a release. “Everyone should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, get tested if they have symptoms, improve ventilation in indoor spaces, and follow guidelines for isolation or quarantine if sick or exposed. Individuals may choose to wear a mask at any time.”
The CDC also recommends that travelers should get tested no more than three days before their departure and arrival dates.
Vaccine update
The Alexandria Health Department now offers vaccine boosters for children ages 5 to 11 at least five months after their last dose.
- There are 22,698 unvaccinated Alexandria residents
- About 77% of residents (119,084 people) are fully vaccinated
- 85% (131,182 people) of residents got at least one dose
- 63,779 residents got booster shots
In Alexandria City Public Schools, there have been 1,065 cases reported since Dec. 1. Of those, 906 are children and 178 are staff, but the numbers on the school system’s dashboard don’t add up.
The city remains in a state of emergency until June 30.
VDH reported the following new cases this month in Alexandria:
- 90 new cases on May 23
- 106 new cases on May 22
- 112 new cases on May 21
- 137 new cases on May 20
- 167 new cases on May 19
- 132 new cases on May 18
- 92 new cases on May 17
- 63 new cases on May 16
- 106 new cases on May 15
- 112 new cases on May 14
- 119 new cases on May 13
- 133 new cases on May 12
- 85 new cases on May 11
- 73 new cases on May 10
- 61 new cases on May 9
- 62 new cases on May 8
- 113 new cases on May 7
- 79 new cases on May 6
- 82 new cases on May 5
- 106 new cases on May 4
- 47 new cases on May 3
- 46 new cases on May 2
- 36 new cases on May 1
