COVID-19 Case Data for Fairfax Health District

The Case Data Dashboard provides information about COVID-19 in the Fairfax Health District. Please note the following:

  • How to Read: Information about each of the data sets is explained on the left side of the dashboard. Answers to FAQs can be found at the bottom of this page.
  • Data only represents COVID-19 confirmed and probable cases reported to the Health Department: Due to the limitations described in the dashboard, the numbers are underestimates of the true burden of COVID-19 in the community. It is important to understand these limitations when interpreting the data.
  • Data should not be used to determine your individual level of risk or to self-diagnose. Cases represent a place of residence and not necessarily where transmission may have occurred. There is community transmission across the entire region and everyone should follow recommendations to protect themselves and slow the spread of COVID-19.

For more explanation, please see the FAQs below the dashboard.

Beginning the week of January 30th, VDH will start adding COVID-19 associated deaths that occurred in Virginia residents who died in another state in 2021 to the official surveillance statistics as part of the quality assurance reconciliation process. As a result, the total number of deceased cases is expected to increase on the dashboard below. For more information about COVID-19 associated deaths are counted, please see: How does VDH Count COVID-19-Associated Deaths?

To view a larger version of the data, please visit the dashboard.

 

The Virginia Department of Health has a lot of sources of incoming data — commercial labs, public health labs and hospital labs — who are all reporting into the same system that are used to calculate the COVID-19 statewide data. Staff are constantly entering and reviewing data so what gets reported is considered preliminary. Given the volume of cases reported every day, slight difference in counts may reflect what the database has captured at different points in time, or in some instances, counts may need to be adjusted to reflect corrections to data.

 

The COVID-19 Case Data Dashboard was updated on March 30, 2022 to reflect Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dashboard changes. More information on dashboard updates can be found on the Fairfax County Emergency Information blog

Additional COVID-19 Data

More COVID-19 data for Virginia is available from the Virginia Department of Health. 

VACCINE DATA

Looking for vaccine-related data? The COVID-19 Vaccination Status Dashboard provides key data for the Fairfax Health District.

FAQs

What are the recommendations for viewing the dashboard: browser, device type, etc.?

For best viewing experience, we recommend using a laptop or desktop device. If you are viewing on a tablet or other mobile device, please do so horizontally for a better experience. Older mobile devices might have limited viewing experiences. If you are using Internet Explorer as your browser, please use version 11.

What should I know about the case counts?

On March 30, 2022, the number of New Cases was replaced with the 7-Day Average Number of Daily New Cases Reported to minimize fluctuations in laboratory data reporting by day and stabilize trends in cases. As a reminder, case totals are based on when labs report results, not when individuals become infected. 

The number of COVID-19 case counts underestimate the true number of cases because:

  • Not all people infected with COVID-19 show symptoms.
  • Not everyone who has symptoms will require medical attention for their symptoms.
  • Not everyone who seeks care will be tested and not everyone with symptoms of COVID-19 will be given this diagnosis and reported by their healthcare provider.
  • Results of most positive at-home tests are not reported to the health department; this means that many COVID-19 cases are not included in these data.

Why are the numbers sometimes different from VDH?

The Virginia Department of Health has a lot of sources of incoming data — commercial labs, public health labs and hospital labs — who are all reporting into the same system that are used to calculate the COVID-19 statewide data. Staff are constantly entering and reviewing data so what gets reported is considered preliminary. Given the volume of cases reported every day, slight difference in counts may reflect what the database has captured at different points in time, or in some instances, counts may need to be adjusted to reflect corrections to data.

Where can I find information about Virginia residents who have recovered from COVID-19?

Recovery information is not data that the Virginia Department of Health collects. Our data reflect a snapshot in time when the case is reported to us and public health is not currently performing subsequent interviews or data collection to see where the person is at another point in the future. It is important to remember that the vast majority of people with COVID-19 recover.

What is the percentage of positive tests?

Testing information is posted on the COVID-19 Testing by Week display. This includes the number of tests, number of positive tests and percent positive. A more detailed explanation of this data is available in the description.

To see the percent positivity and weekly test count, tap on or hover your cursor over the bar or line, and a popup will appear. For the best viewing experience, we recommend using a laptop or desktop device.

Please note:

  • Due to the high number of tests being reported, this graph will be updated each day at noon to allow for data to be processed.
  • The number of COVID-19 case counts underestimate the true number of cases because:
    • Not all people infected with COVID-19 show symptoms.
    • Not everyone who has symptoms will require medical attention for their symptoms.
    • Not everyone who seeks care will be tested and not everyone with symptoms of COVID-19 will be given this diagnosis and reported by their healthcare provider.
    • Results of most positive at-home tests are not reported to the health department; this means that many COVID-19 cases are not included in these data.

How is event date on the Epidemic Curve calculated?

For each case, event date is calculated by selecting the first available date in the case record from among these variables:

  1. Illness Onset Date
  2. Specimen Collection Date of Earliest Associated Lab 
  3. Date of Diagnosis
  4. Earliest of the following dates:
    • Earliest Date Received by local/county health department
    • Earliest Date Received by state health department
    • Date of Report
    • Investigations Start Date
    • Confirmation Date
    • Investigation Create Date

What is Community Level?

The CDC developed the COVID-19 community level tool that uses a combination of three measures: hospitalizations, hospital capacity, and cases within a community. The current community level (low, medium and high) and the three measures that make up the metric are now available on the dashboard for Fairfax County. For definitions of how the community level is calculated please visit COVID-19 community level tool.

Fairfax Virtual Assistant