RADFORD, Va – The city of Radford is ranked number five on the New York Times list of COVID-19 hotspots in the state of Virginia.
The data is based on cases per one hundred thousand people. The city has seen 97 new COVID-19 cases in the last week.
Noelle Bissell with the New River Health District says most of the cases are from both the student population at Radford University and socialization of city residents. She warns of misconceptions that might come from data that isn’t coming directly from the health department.
“You really can’t do that. That really isn’t comparing apples to apples, that’s comparing apples to oranges, so you have to be careful about those numbers, but again, any cases that we’re seeing, no matter where they are, it’s related to close social contact,” said Bissell.
Bissell also says Radford might be quick to show up on a hot spot list because it has a population of less than 20,000.