WASHINGTON — The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) remains present around the country, as well as here in the DMV. Things like masks and social distancing are the most important to help combat the spread of the virus.
This blog details the latest updates on the coronavirus in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Check-in each day for what’s new, where each part of the DMV is at in its phased reopening plan and what direction the coronavirus trend is headed.
Have a question? Text it to us at 202-895-5599.
Updates on coronavirus cases come from health departments between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. every day.
Tracking the Coronavirus
- Ward 6, which includes neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, NoMa, Shaw and Navy Yard, has seen the fastest growth in new cases over the past two weeks – growing by more than 9.3%. By comparison, Ward 4, which still has the most total cases in the city, saw cases grow by 6.5% over that same period.
- DC Health reported 100 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday – the first time the District has reported triple-digit numbers in more than two weeks.
- Maryland set a new single-day testing record over the weekend. The state reported the results of 40,672 coronavirus tests on Saturday. That’s nearly 6,000 more tests than the previous record. Of those tests, only 2.7% were positive.
- Maryland remains on its recent downward trajectory in new coronavirus cases. As of Monday, the seven-day average was down 17% from where it was two weeks ago.
- As of Sunday, more than 100,000 Virginians have now been infected by the novel coronavirus. Of those, more than 2,300 have died.
- Virginia surpassed its record-high moving average for daily new coronavirus cases on Saturday – averaging just under 1,200 cases over the previous week. Since Friday, the commonwealth has set new records for its seven-day average and single-day counts.
Reopening the DMV
The latest in reopening news:
- Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the jurisdiction will remain in Phase 2 of reopening. Here's the latest.
- Virginia has begun Phase 3 of reopening. More details about Phase III in Virginia here.
- A last-minute change prohibits bar seating in Phase 3 of Virginia's reopening.
- As new cases have begun rising again in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam has promised stricter enforcement of mask and social distancing rules.
- Gov. Northam has tightened some coronavirus restrictions in the Hampton Roads area.
- D.C. is now in Phase II of reopening. It means restaurants and non-essential retail can open indoors at 50% capacity and gyms and yoga studios can reopen with restrictions. Full details on what Phase II means in D.C. here.
- Metro has reopened some stops. Here's what you need to know.
- All of Maryland is now in Phase II.
- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has expanded the masks requirements in the state, and issued a travel advisory.
Previous updates:
August 8:
- D.C.’s transmission rate, which measures how many new infections a single case can be expected to cause, has now been below its goal of 1 for 10 consecutive days (as of July 22, the latest date available). Before that the District had been above this goal for two weeks in early July.
- D.C.’s case trend has been mostly plateaued at an average of 65-75 new cases a day for the past two weeks. It has perhaps been on a slight downward trend over the past week.
- Maryland reported a new record-low average percent positivity on Friday of 3.9%. The state has averaged nearly 25,000 COVID-19 tests a day for the past week.
- It may be premature to say Maryland has begun a sustained downward trend, however, the state has seen day-to-day case number decreases for five of the past seven days.
- Virginia set a new single-day record on Friday of 2,015 new cases of the coronavirus. That’s 400 more cases than the previous record, set on May 26.
- Where did Friday’s record number of cases come from? The top five localities for the day were Prince William County (177), Fairfax County (154), Norfolk (133), Virginia Beach (123) and Henrico County (69).
What precautions should you take?
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are unavailable.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Check the status of the virus in your state with your state health department's websites by tapping below: