COVID-19 in Virginia: LIVE updates for Friday, August 28

RICHMOND, Va. -- In an effort to provide accurate, easy-to-read information on the on-going COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on our community, WTVR.com will update this post with the day's local coronavirus headlines and statistics.

COVID-19 IN VIRGINIA (Scroll to bottom for U.S. stats)

Positive COVID-19 Cases: 117,592 (+1,013 from Thursday)
People Hospitalized: 9,460 (+69 from Thursday)
COVID-19-Linked Deaths: 2,550 (+23 from Thursday)
Total Tests: 1,642,867 (not yet updated)
All Health Districts Current 7-Day Positivity Rate Total: 6.8%

Click here for complete city/county-by-county breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Virginia

NOTE: This data is provided from the Virginia Department of Healthdaily at 10 a.m. Officials said their cutoff for data is 5 p.m. the previous day. So your local health department may have issued an alert about a case before it is added to the statewide tally released the following day. Get the latest charts and updated numbers from VDH here. *Data fromJohns Hopkins University COVID-19 Tracker.

COVID-19 LOCAL HEADLINES

VCU preps more isolation beds as COVID cases rise
A little more than a week after students returned to VCU's downtown Richmond campus for the fall semester, the university announced plans to open up more isolation beds as active COVID-19 cases rise with 79 active student cases and 12 active employee cases reported as of Thursday morning. Read more.

180,000 masks donated to Richmond students by CoStar Group
Face masks and other school supplies will be donated to Richmond Public School students preparing for the new school year. Read more.

Lawyer: Here's what to tell a judge to help avoid eviction during COVID-19 pandemic
Since March, more than 12 million renters have been shielded against losing their homes thanks to the federal moratorium. This week, those protections ran out. Read more.

New US virus cases fall as masks gain favor but testing lags
The number of Americans newly diagnosed with the coronavirus is falling — a development experts say most likely reflects more mask-wearing but also insufficient testing — even as the disease continues to claim nearly 1,000 lives in the U.S. each day. Read more.

$5,000 grants awarded to Virginia artists impacted by COVID-19
Governor Northam and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced Tuesday that each recipient will receive $5,000 from the Virginia Artist Relief Fellowship Program, totaling $200,000 to support the visual artists. Read more.

Dinwiddie schools change of course, switch to virtual reopening plan
The Dinwiddie County School Board Tuesday approved a full virtual learning start to the school year. Read more.

State lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19 during special session
State Senator Bryce Reeves (R - Spotsylvania) has tested positive for COVID-19. Read more.

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COMPLETE COVERAGE: COVID-19 HEADLINES (App users, click here for a complete list.)

LATEST COVID-19 U.S. AND WORLDWIDE STATS