UVA Health experiences an increase in COVID patients after Thanksgiving UVA Health experiences an increase in COVID patients after Thanksgiving By Rachel Hirschheimer | December 18, 2020 at 5:10 PM EST - Updated December 18 at 8:18 PM CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - As more COVID-19 cases emerge after Thanksgiving, UVA Medical Center is worried a bigger surge could come after Christmas. “We have seen an increase as you know the experts predicted that we likely would and we have,” Chief Medical Officer for UVA Health, Dr. Reid Adams said. With winter holidays right around the corner, Adams says the hospital system is buckling down in case more coronavirus patients need extra care.