Richmond, Va. (NewsradioWRVA.com ) - The good news is that the community transmission level of COVID in the Richmond/Henrico Health District is low. The bad news is that there is a slow and steady rise in cases in the area due to the BA2 subvariant of Omicron. Hospitalizations are stable, but another piece of good news is that we're in a much better place for infections and hospitalizations than this past winter with Omicron and last summer with the Delta variant.
Dr. Melissa Viray, the acting director of the Richmond/Henrico Health District says that the "sub-sub" variant that's hitting New York City and New York State doesn't seem to be a factor here. So far, the variants and subvariants seem to be contagious as previous strains, but the good news is that the cases are not as severe. They will continue to monitor.
Dr. Viray says they still need vaccination rates to rise and they still have vaccination clinics around. She advises those who haven't been vaccinated, or fully vaccinated, to schedule an appointment either at a clinic or a local pharmacy.
As far as masks go, Dr. Viray says she backs the CDC recommendation to wear them on public transit, just because you're in close proximity with people you don't know.
