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In just a week, Lunenburg County has seen a significant rise in cases of COVID-19.

According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), between Monday, Aug. 24, and Monday, Aug. 31, there have been 12 new positive cases reported bringing the total to 93.

The VDH COVID-19 dashboard showed the largest increase in cases reported between two days of eight cases between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26.

In neighboring Charlotte County, COVID-19 cases are also on the rise, with VDH reporting 10 positive cases in just the same week. In Charlotte County, three of the positive cases are pediatric cases with two of those begin school-aged children.

“At this time, over the last seven days we have not had any new pediatric cases in Lunenburg,” District Emergency Planner David Martin with the Piedmont Health District. said

In August the Virginia Department of Health began to conduct a pediatric coronavirus disease serology study.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Serology tests look for antibodies in the blood. If antibodies are found, that means there has been a previous infection. Antibodies are proteins that can fight off infections.”

VDH will use the information collected from this project to estimate the total number of children who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, including those who may have had mild or asymptomatic infections. VDH will also analyze children’s risk factors for COVID-19 infection, including age, underlying health conditions, sociodemographic characteristics, history of COVID-19 infection within households, and childcare exposures.

Preliminary results are expected by mid-September.