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 still important, but our counties and communities have begun to reopen.
This blog details the latest updates on our Road to Recovery 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.
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. More details here.
- As new cases have begun rising again in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam has promised stricter enforcement of mask and social distancing rules. What that means here
- 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, and the state's largest casino, MGM National Harbor, has reopened.
- Amusement parks have begun declaring opening dates. Click here for more on those.
Tracking the Coronavirus
- Virginia continues to trend upward in daily cases, recording 940 new cases of the virus.
- In the District, 79 new cases of the virus are reported. It's the second-highest single-day reporting since June 5.
- Maryland reports 835 new cases of the virus, also the highest single-day report since June 5. The test positivitiy rate remains steady and below 5%, now at 4.4%
Friday, July 17:
- After a week of increasing case numbers, D.C. has plateaued over the past couple of days. The District is now averaging around 50 new cases a day – up about 20 cases from its low point on July 6. D.C. coronavirus live updates
- Maryland continues its upward trend. As of Friday, the state had reported more than 700 new cases a day for three of the past four days. The last time that was true was June 5. Maryland coronavirus live updates
- Virginia reported more than 1,000 new cases on two days this week, and as of Friday is now averaging more than 900 new cases a day. That’s where the commonwealth was at in early June just as the initial wave began to recede.
- Virginia’s daily deaths from the coronavirus, which have been experiencing a second wave since late June, have been on a downward trend for nearly a week.
- If Virginia’s daily case numbers continuing growing at the rate they have over the past two weeks, the commonwealth is on track to set a new record-high average sometime next week. Virginia’s total case count is also poised to exceed Maryland’s for the first time ever within the next few days. Virginia coronavirus live updates
Thursday, July 16:
- D.C. is not meeting two metrics it needs to begin Phase 3: A 14-day sustained decrease in cases in the community and a sustained low transmission rate below 1 new infection per case. The latter metric has been worsening since June 30.
- DC Health reports than more than 100,000 District residents have now been tested for the coronavirus, and another 40,000 non-residents have been tested in the city as well.
- Maryland has now been on an upward trend in new coronavirus cases for three consecutive weeks.
- As WUSA9 reported Wednesday, Montgomery County will begin cracking down on mask and social distancing enforcement, particularly at construction sites.
- Despite the increase in new cases, Maryland remains on the same downward trend in coronavirus deaths it has been on since late May.
- On Thursday, Virginia reported its 2,000th death from the coronavirus.
- Virginia is now averaging more than 900 new cases of the coronavirus a day. That’s the rate the commonwealth was at in early June, and nearly 75% of Virginia’s peak daily case rate.
Wednesday, July 15:
- D.C. reported 80 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday – its highest single-day case count in more than a month. The District also reported 3 new deaths from the virus, breaking a five-day streak without them.
- On Wednesday, the District reported its 11,000th positive case of the coronavirus.
- DC Health reports the median transmission rate for the virus – the number of people who will be infected by each positive case – is now above the city’s goal of 1. It had been below 1 new case per infection since the beginning of May.
- Maryland has set new monthly high case counts for three out of the last four days, including Wednesday’s count of 756 new cases. That’s the state’s highest single-day count since June 5.
- On Wednesday, Prince George’s County reported its 20,000th case of the coronavirus. The county leads the D.C. metro in COVID-19 cases for a number of reasons, as WUSA9 has previously reported.
- Maryland on Wednesday reported the state’s 75,000th case of the coronavirus. According to data tracked by the New York Times, that puts it back into the top 10 states by number of coronavirus cases per capita.
- Virginia reported 1,084 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday – the first time the commonwealth has broken the 1,000 mark since June 7.
- Virginia’s 7-day average for new cases has increased by more than 100% over the past two weeks, growing from 527 on July 1 to 879 as of Wednesday.
- The percent positivity of new tests in Virginia has been steadily rising for weeks despite a similar increase in the number of tests performed. As of Wednesday, it’s now above 7%.
Tuesday, July 14:
- D.C.’s streak of days without new deaths from the coronavirus continued Tuesday into its fifth day.
- The Columbia Heights neighborhood in D.C. has now reported more than 700 cases of the coronavirus. The 16th Street Heights neighborhood has the second-highest count in the city with 635 cases.
- Maryland reported 733 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday – its highest single-day case count since June 5.
- Maryland has been on an upward trend in new cases for more than two weeks, although its percent positivity remains below 5%.
- Virginia has reportedly significantly below-average death numbers for the last four days.
- The commonwealth has been on an upward trend in new cases since June 21, and the percent positivity of coronavirus tests has been increasing as well, despite conducting the highest number of daily tests yet. As of Tuesday, Virginia’s percent positivity was at 6.9% -- up from its low of 5.9%. The commonwealth is now averaging more than 13,000 coronavirus tests a day.
Monday, July 13:
- D.C. has now reported 0 new deaths from the coronavirus for four consecutive days.
- The District has been on a moderate upward trend in new cases for a week.
- D.C. still has far and away the slowest doubling time in the DMV, but it has lost a lot of ground. On July 5 the city’s doubling time for coronavirus cases was more than 240 days. As of Monday, it’s now 141 days.
- Maryland has been on an upward trend in new daily cases for 11 days, but that trend has accelerated over the past 4-5 days.
- Despite a large one-day spike in cases last week, Maryland’s trend for daily deaths from the coronavirus continues on the same downward trajectory it’s been on since May 25.
- By mid-June Maryland’s coronavirus doubling time had slowed to nearly 140 days, however, it has been speeding back up recently, and is now at 94 days.
- Virginia’s daily case counts have gone up precipitously over the past week. Last Monday, the commonwealth was averaging 559 new cases a day. As of Monday, Virginia is now averaging 791 new cases a day – a 42% increase in just one week.
- Virginia’s Monday count of 972 cases is its highest in more than a month, and the second time in four days that the commonwealth has reported more than 900 cases in a single day.
- As WUSA9 reported on Friday, as new cases rise in Virginia, the percentage of those cases coming from Northern Virginia continues to fall. On Sunday, just 177 of the commonwealth’s 888 new cases, or 20%, came from Northern Virginia.
- Virginia’s coronavirus doubling time, which peaked at just above 80 days, has now sped back up to 56 days.
Sunday, July 12:
- For the fifth day in a row, no additional deaths have been reported in the District, keeping the total at 568 deaths.
- The District sees a slight uptick in its 7-day average case count, now at 61 new cases a week.
- Virginia, which recently headed into Phase 3 of reopening, saw 888 new cases of the virus, continuing to see a slight upward trend. Two days ago, the commonwealth saw one of it's highest single-day number of cases at 943.
- In Maryland, the test positivity rate remained below 5% for the 17th straight day. 642 cases of the virus are reported, with the 7-day average at 497 cases.
Saturday, July 11:
- DC reports 122 new cases of the virus, the highest single-day reported count since June 3.
- Despite the increased number of cases, the District reports no new deaths from the virus, the fourth time in a month.
- The trend in cases in Virginia continues to remain on an upward tick with the commonwealth reporting 69,782 cases -- up 841 from the day before. The commonwealth also reports 4 new deaths, now bringing the total count to 1,962.
- Maryland continues on an upward trend in new cases for the past 10 consecutive days. The total case count is now at 71, 910.
Friday, July 10:
- For the first time since early June, D.C. is on a slight upward trend, with three of the last four days reporting above-average case counts.
- For the third time in a month, D.C. reported 0 new deaths from the coronavirus on Friday.
- Maryland has now been on an upward trend in new cases for 9 consecutive days.
- The trend in daily deaths in Maryland, despite a spike on Tuesday, has remained on a downward trend since late May.
- Virginia reported 943 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday – its highest single-day count since June 7 and a 45% increase over its 7-day average.
- Virginia has now been on an upward trend in new cases for 19 days.
Thursday, July 9:
- D.C. reported 73 new cases on Wednesday – it’s highest single-day total in more than a month.
- Maryland has now been on a slight upward trend in coronavirus cases for more than a week.
- On Wednesday, Maryland reported 9 new deaths from the coronavirus, which is a return to the norm after Tuesday’s above-average count.
- On Wednesday, Virginia reported 635 new cases of the coronavirus. The commonwealth has now reported more than 600 cases a day for five of the past seven days.
- Discounting the depressed reporting numbers from the holiday weekend, daily deaths in Virginia have now been on an upward trend for two weeks. As of Wednesday, the commonwealth was averaging between five to nine more deaths a day from the virus than it was a month ago.
Wednesday, July 8:
- D.C. reported 73 new cases on Wednesday – it’s highest single-day total in more than a month.
- Maryland has now been on a slight upward trend in coronavirus cases for more than a week.
- On Wednesday, Maryland reported 9 new deaths from the coronavirus, which is a return to the norm after Tuesday’s above-average count.
- On Wednesday, Virginia reported 635 new cases of the coronavirus. The commonwealth has now reported more than 600 cases a day for five of the past seven days.
- Discounting the depressed reporting numbers from the holiday weekend, daily deaths in Virginia have now been on an upward trend for two weeks. As of Wednesday, the commonwealth was averaging between five to nine more deaths a day from the virus than it was a month ago.
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: