If you’re watching the coronavirus pandemic by the numbers for signs of improvement, you could get whiplash from one week to the next.
Coming off a brief period in which no health district was surging in new infections, Virginia’s caseload appeared to be receding while other states across the country were headed down the opposite path. Now, all but the northern part of the state is having an upward trajectory, based on data collected by the Virginia Department of Health. In Hampton Roads, slow growth was happening in the Hampton, Peninsula and Western Tidewater districts.
Fresh off his mild bout of the coronavirus, Gov. Ralph Northam returned to public business last week, with a reminder to Virginians to stay vigilant. At a press briefing Tuesday, he urged residents to continue wearing masks around other people, washing hands and avoiding crowds where people are closer than 6 feet apart.