Active coronavirus cases at VA have doubled in June

The number of active coronavirus cases among Veterans Affairs patients has doubled since the start of June, due mostly to rising numbers of infected individuals at hospitals in Texas, Florida, California and other virus hot spots across the country.

On Thursday morning, VA officials reported 2,815 active cases of the fast-spreading virus across 132 medical facilities. That’s up more than 60 percent in the last week alone and twice the department’s reported active case total of 1,390 at the start of June.

The number of active cases had dropped steadily through May since peaking around 3,000 in the early part of the month. Now, nearly all of those reductions are gone.

Fifteen VA medical centers have added 20 or more new coronavirus patients in the last 10 days, according to department statistics. The VA hospital in San Antonio has the most active cases with nearly 200, more than 150 of them coming in the last two weeks.

Public health officials have warned of significant coronavirus spikes in states in the south and west in recent days, with several posting their highest infection numbers since the start of the pandemic fourth months ago.

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Author: Dian Welle