The Fairfax County Health Department has launched a new data site with more information on COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District. The district is composed of Fairfax County, the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, and the towns of Herndon and Vienna.

In the interest of keeping the public informed during this health emergency while still upholding our legal responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals, the Health Department is continually evaluating ways to share data responsibly. Fairfax County is now reporting on its website:

• Total Cases, Hospitalizations, and Fatalities.
• Cases by Locality. This presents case counts for Fairfax County, City of Fairfax and City of Falls Church.
• Case Rates by Combined Zip Code. To protect the confidential health information of residents, the case rates are being presented in combined ZIP Codes grouped by the first three digits (e.g., 22030 and 22032 are both in the grouping 220).
• Case Rates by Age Group. Rates are per 100,000 residents and indicate the age distribution of cases and deaths while taking into account the size differences of the age groups. 
• Case Rates by Racial and Ethnic Groups. A side-by-side percent comparison of major racial and ethnic groups is presented.
• Trajectory of Cases. This graph helps visualize the growth in the overall number of cases and whether that growth is slowing.
• Epidemic Curve. This curve shows the number of new cases that occur per week by date of onset. Recent information are incomplete due to the time between exposure and laboratory results.

“Providing this data will help show the extent of the outbreak and highlight areas where there may be disparities in the Fairfax Health District without breaching the confidentiality of individuals with COVID-19 infection,” said Fairfax Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu.

“It’s important to note that these data are an underestimate of the true burden of COVID-19 in the community, as it is a reflection of who is being tested more than a measure of the virus’ prevalence.”

“Since many people with mild to moderate symptoms are not being diagnosed or tested, the data primarily represents people with more severe illness and should be interpreted with caution and not used to determine individual risk,” Dr. Addo-Ayensu added.

Likewise, it is important to view the data for Fairfax Health District in light of its large population. Fairfax Health District has the most cases in the Commonwealth of Virginia but not the highest disease prevalence (a measure of cases per 100,000 residents). Generally, rates of confirmed COVID-19 are higher in Northern Virginia than elsewhere in the Commonwealth and Fairfax has rates similar to its neighboring districts.

For more information on COVID-19 and what you can do to keep yourself and others safe, please visit our website at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/covid19.

Stay Informed

This is a rapidly changing situation, and information is being shared as it becomes available.

• Call our Health Department Call Center at 703-267-3511 with coronavirus questions; open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
• Text FFXCOVID to 888777 to receive updates from Fairfax County about COVID-19.
• Email questions or concerns to ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov. This email account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 6 p.m.
• Visit a web portal for coronavirus that serves as a one-stop online resource for information.
• Learn more about COVID-19 on the Health Department Coronavirus (COVID-19) Webpage or FAQ page.
• Follow the Fairfax County Government Facebook Page and Health Department Facebook Page.
• Follow @fairfaxcounty and @fairfaxhealth on Twitter.