The District of Columbia reported no new deaths from the novel coronavirus for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, as the city is still in the second phase of reopening.
Sunday marked the last day of the four-day period, which is considered a record since the last time the city saw only two consecutive days without new deaths caused by COVID-19 was late March.
The announcement came from the DC Health Department on Monday. A total of 59 additional coronavirus cases were reported on the same day.
DC Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said that she was happy to see no new deaths in the District in four days in a row, adding “we always see an increase in cases followed by an increase in hospitalizations, followed by an increase in deaths.” Those indicators tend to lag by two weeks, according to Nesbitt.
In a related development, the DC government is planning to carry out a citywide survey to understand the spread of coronavirus antibodies. DC Health will be teaming up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the study.
Antibodies found in a person’s blood are thought to show whether they were exposed to coronavirus before and survived the disease without being aware of it.
Over 800 households will be randomly selected and offered the option of getting free antibody tests before August 15. People who take part in the initiative will be transported to the testing site for free and receive a $25 Visa gift card.
The city’s third free antibody testing site is set to open on Tuesday at the Hillcrest Recreation Center in Southeast.
As of Tuesday, July 14, more than 11,000 infections have been reported in the District, with at least 568 losing their lives.
The city’s ongoing Phase 2 reopening that started last month allows restaurants and non-essential retail to serve their customers indoors at 50 percent capacity. Parks, libraries, gyms, and yoga studios are also permitted to operate with safety restrictions.