{"id":37493,"date":"2020-10-14T12:59:16","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T12:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/14\/active-coronavirus-cases-among-va-patients-increasing-in-october\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:12:36","slug":"active-coronavirus-cases-among-va-patients-increasing-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2020\/10\/14\/active-coronavirus-cases-among-va-patients-increasing-in-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Active coronavirus cases among VA patients increasing in October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Active coronavirus cases<\/a> among Veterans Affairs patients topped 4,000 cases for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, potentially signaling another spike in illnesses within the department\u2019s medical system in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, VA officials<\/a> said they are not concerned about the recent rise, saying that the hospitalization rate among those patients is \u201cat their lowest point of the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Tuesday evening, more than 66,000 VA patients<\/a> had tested positive for coronavirus since the start of the U.S pandemic in March. At least 3,677 have died from complications related to the virus, an average about 119 deaths a week over the last seven months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active cases among patients reached their highest levels in July, at one point topping 6,400 cases across more than 140 VA medical center sites. That number dropped below 2,500 cases in mid-September before beginning to rise again in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\t