Northern Virginia is recording the most new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, as the latest surge of infections continues to sweep across the D.C. area.

On Dec. 25, the region reported 3,835 new COVID infections, the most in a single day since the pandemic began. Christmas Day’s case total broke the record, set the day before on Christmas Eve, when the region reported 3,827 cases. During the winter surge in January, that number peaked at 3,678.

As of Monday Dec. 27, the region’s rolling average of new cases is 2,741 – a 150% increase from just one week ago.

From Dec. 19 to Dec. 25, Northern Virginia reported 702 new cases per 100,000 residents, the highest rate out of all regions in the commonwealth. The positivity rate for that period, which measures the number of infections out of total tests administered, was roughly 18% – a level not seen since May 2020.

Alexandria recorded 376 new cases on Dec. 25, surpassing the previous case record of 168 new cases from last January. Arlington did the same, recording 687 on Christmas Day, shattering the previous record of 193. Fairfax reported more than 1,500 new cases on Dec. 25 –  slightly higher the previous record set in January of 1,486.

The surging caseloads mirror trends across the region, as the highly transmissible omicron variant takes hold in the country. Last week, D.C. forged into the holiday weekend reporting the highest daily rate of new infections per 100,000 residents out of any state in the U.S. (The city has yet to publish more recent data following the holiday). Maryland set a pandemic record as well on Dec. 24, reporting 9,859 new COVID cases in a single day – more than doubling the record set in January.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a pediatrician, has been noticeably silent since the recent explosion of COVID-19 cases. While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated a mask mandate last week (among a flurry of new COVID-19 measures), and Gov. Larry Hogan activated hospital surge capacity plans, Northam has yet to hold a press conference addressing the drastic case spikes or institute any new mitigation measures.

When asked during a Dec. 17 appearance on the Politics Hour what, if any, measures he was considering taking ahead of the holiday season, Northam said his team “look[s] at the options every day.”

“But we’re sticking really to what we’ve been saying all along,” Northam said. “Go out there and get a shot and when you’re in close proximity to other folks, wear a mask. Keep your distance. And these are the things that will work if people would just follow those guidelines.”

According to the Virginia Health Department’s most recent data, only six cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed in the state – three of them in the Northern region. A spokesperson for VDH confirmed that no new cases linked to omicron have been identified, but sequencing samples for variants can often take weeks.

Statewide, the commonwealth reported its highest-ever total of new cases on Monday with 18,513 new cases, bringing the seven-day average of new cases to 6,307 – another pandemic record for the state.

Hospitalizations have not yet surged to the same magnitude as cases, although a jump in COVID-19 patients and deaths related to the virus often lags weeks behind a peak in cases. Last week, University of Maryland public health professor Neil Sehgal told DCist/WAMU that the impact of the case surge will likely appear in the hospitalization data in the week between Christmas and New Years.

As of Monday, 1,672 Virginians were currently hospitalized with the virus throughout the commonwealth; during the January surge, that metric surged past 3,000. Still, the number of people hospitalized with the virus is up nearly 92% from this time last month. Deaths from the virus have also been steadily increasing over December, after a downward trend held for much of the fall.

While much remains unknown about omicron, officials and public health experts are watching how the variant behaves in the United Kingdom to predict its impact on the U.S. Last week, preliminary research out of the U.K. showed that omicron appeared less likely than the delta variant to land people in the hospital with serious illness – but officials are cautioning that the unprecedented number of cases may still overwhelm health systems, as more people – primarily the unvaccinated – fall ill with the virus.

Between Nov. 17 and Dec. 18, unvaccinated Virginians were four times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus than fully vaccinated individuals, according to data from Virginia’s health department. As of Dec. 18, the rate of infection per 100,000 residents was 814 for the unvaccinated in Virginia, compared to roughly 86 for the fully vaccinated. Officials are urging all eligible residents (meaning all residents 16 years and older who are at least six months out from their original vaccine series) to get a booster shot for additional protection. As of Monday, Dec. 27, 67% of Virginia’s population is fully vaccinated, but only 34% of the state’s fully vaccinated population has received a third dose.