COVID rates creep back up in Virginia

COVID-19 is making a comeback just in time to plague the holiday party circuit.

What's happening: Hospitalizations in Virginia were up 40% last week, per the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

• Community spread levels are currently medium throughout the region, though some parts of Virginia — namely in the far southwest portion of the state, are seeing high levels of spread, per the CDC.

Why it matters: The increase comes amid an already awful flu season that has seen a surge in pediatric hospitalizations.

• "Virginia doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers are already being inundated with a surge of sick patients seeking care, filling hospital beds, and in many cases requiring longer hospital stays," the hospital association said in a statement late last month.

What we're watching: So far, hospitalizations remain at about 600 statewide, far below the nearly 4,000 hospitalizations during last winter's surge.