Virginia reported almost 6,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, a number that rivals the highest single-day totals of the entire pandemic.
With demand for tests high, people again are waiting in long lines to learn if they’re safe to visit family.
Test results expose how aggressive the omicron variant is.
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"I don't think anyone expected the number of cases to go up this rapidly, given how well our population has been vaccinated, and that's really a testament to what omicron can do in a community," Loudoun County Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend said.
With that surge, Inova hospitals are filling up even more beds, and Inova Fair Oaks Hospital President Dr. Raj Chand says his team is fighting to save lives.
"We had a young individual who was afraid of needles, and the parents chose not to get that person vaccinated,” Chand said. “That person was in their 20s and then became acutely ill and is in our ICU."
Source: CoVariants
Amy O’Kruk/NBC
That patient is on a ventilator. Chand said that story is sadly common.
“That's a story that gets repeated over and over in our country, day in and day out," he said.
The Virginia Department of Health reported 50 deaths Wednesday after reporting 38 on Tuesday.
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