CHAPTER 13
An Act to direct the Commissioner of Health to make certain COVID-19-related data available to the public.
[S 5090]
Approved October 21, 2020
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. For the duration of the emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to § 44-146.17 of the Code of Virginia in response to COVID-19, the Commissioner of Health shall make available to the public on a website maintained by the Department of Health information about confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth, by week and by health district, including (i) the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19; (ii) the number of confirmed cases by age group and by race and ethnicity; and (iii) the percentage of cases that are known to be associated with a nursing home, assisted living facility, or correctional facility, provided that the release of such information does not violate the provisions of § 32.1-41 of the Code of Virginia.
§ 2. For the duration of the emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to § 44-146.17 of the Code of Virginia in response to COVID-19, the Commissioner of Health shall make available to the public on a website maintained by the Department of Health information about and analyses of data required to be made available to the public pursuant to § 1 to facilitate better understanding of such data.
§ 3. For the duration of the emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to § 44-146.17 of the Code of Virginia in response to COVID-19, the Commissioner of Health shall develop and make available to the public on a website maintained by the Department of Health COVID-19 indicators with thresholds to include case incidence rate, percentage of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests that are positive, rate of COVID-like illness visits to emergency departments, rate of current confirmed COVID-19 intensive care unit hospitalizations, and percentage of hospital beds that are currently occupied.