During his press conference yesterday, Gov. Ralph Northam outlined the plans for Phase Three of easing COVID-19 restrictions in Virginia.

While Northam said that the statewide numbers “are trending in a positive direction,” the date to enter Phase Three has not been determined yet. The earliest date under consideration is next Friday, June 26, he said.

“People need and they deserve to be able to plan, so I want Virginians to see what Phase Three will generally look like,” Northam said. Northern Virginia entered Phase Two last Friday, June 12.

Here’s what Phase Three may look like, according to Northam:

• fitness centers/gyms may open at 75% capacity
• pools may open at 75% capacity with physical distancing
• childcare services may open
• social gatherings may include up to 250 people

The cap on the capacity for non-essential retail, restaurants and beverage services will be lifted, but physical distancing will still be required.

Meanwhile, entertainment venues like zoos, museums and other outdoor venues may open at 50% capacity with a maximum of 1,000 people.

Just like in Phase Two, the safer at home and teleworking recommendations will still be in place, Northam said, adding that face coverings will still be required in indoor public spaces.

“Studies increasingly show how effective face coverings can be to reduce the spread of this virus, but we all need to wear them and wear them properly,” Northam said. “This is easy to do.”

Personal grooming services and recreational sports will still need to follow physical distancing and overnight summer camps must remain closed.

“We are going to be cautious and careful and watch the data for a little while longer before we move forward,” Northam said, noting that other states have seen surges after easing COVID-19 restrictions “prematurely.”

Image via Facebook, image via Governor of Virginia

Instead of his usual press briefings in Richmond, Gov. Ralph Northam headed to Fairfax County to address the coronavirus pandemic’s racial disparities in Virginia.

Surrounded by state and local elected officials, Northam held a bilingual press briefing at the Fairfax County Government Center today (Thursday) to talk about the disproportionate impacts of the virus on Black and Hispanic communities.

Northam said that 45% of the COVID-19 cases and 35% of the resulting hospitalizations affect the Hispanic and Latino communities, even though they account for approximately 10% of Virginia’s population.

The concern is not new. For the last several months, Fairfax County’s Hispanic population has been hit hard by COVID-19. Local officials working to address the growing racial disparity say the county needs more testing and increased outreach to vulnerable communities.

“Everyone, everyone in Virginia deserves to have access to testing and access to care,” Northam said.

Jeff McKay, the chairman of Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors, highlighted that the county has seen more than 69,000 PCR testing encounters so far — the highest in Virginia.

The county is now shifting to community testing sites and is continuing to hire contact tracers, who “reflect the demographics of the populations they are serving,” McKay said.

McKay also pointed to other county resources, like a list of COVID-19 testing sites and the multi-lingual call center (703-222-0880) to connect residents to housing, food, financial assistance and more.

“Our board feels strongly that the disproportionality of this pandemic affects all of our residents in this county,” McKay said.

During the press conference, Northam applauded recent news: Prince William County ending its program between local police and ICE and the Supreme Court’s decision to extend DACA protections.

“I hope that this will help set a new tone of trust and support with our Latino communities,” Northam said about Prince William County’s decision.

Phase Three 

Northam also addressed the current and future plans for rolling back more COVID-19 restrictions.

While Virginia’s COVID-19 data are “trending in a positive direction,” the state will not enter Phase Three this week, he said. He did, though, unveil what that phase will look like.

Phase Three includes:

• safer at home recommendation
• encourage teleworking
• face coverings required in indoor public spaces
• social gatherings may include up to 250 people
• cap on non-essential retail lifted

“Just because there are more places to go does not mean you need to go there,” Northam said. “The virus has not gone anywhere. We are adapting our lives around it, but it has not changed.”

Northam said that health officials need more time to evaluate the COVID-19 data. Next Friday, June 26, is the earliest date under consideration for Virginia to enter Phase Three, he said.

“We want to make sure that we are inclusive,” Northam said in response to why he chose to hold his press briefing in Northern Virginia instead of Richmond, adding that he met with local leaders before the press briefing.

Image via Facebook

Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has three scenarios for reopening schools this fall.

In May, a task force was created to prepare recommendations for FCPS reopening. On June 9, Gov. Ralph Northam unveiled his phased reopening plan, which provides flexibility for schools in Virginia.

The school board discussed the proposed Return to School plan, which includes three reopening scenarios, Monday afternoon.

The three scenarios are:

1. virtual learning for all students
2. in-school learning with health and social distancing
3. online learning for students with a high risker of severe illness

In the first scenario, students would not be allowed in buildings but the staff would be. Students would have four days of synchronous learning per week and one day of asynchronous learning.

Meanwhile, the second scenario has two proposals for attendance in the buildings at any one time — 50% and 25%.

In-school learning would include cleaning of high-touch areas, daily health screening forms, social distancing in classrooms and on buses and restricting buildings to visitors.

Finally, the third scenario would make groups of students and teachers for online instruction. With the online model, students would receive four days of synchronous learning per week and one day of asynchronous learning.

Additionally, FCPS has proposals for what would happen if the pandemic prompted another shutdown. The plan also mentions shared elements of the three scenarios — middle and high school students having access to laptops via FCPSOn — and how they address equity.

Discussion during the meeting noted that FCPS needs to prepare for the possibility that more than one scenario might happen, especially if there’s a resurgence of COVID-19.

How to keep students and staff dominated the school board’s discussion.

Gloria Addo-Ayensu, the director of the Fairfax County Health Department, said that there aren’t plans to test students prior to them coming back to school. Addo-Ayensu noted that screening forms are a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Addo-Ayensu and Benjamin Schwartz, a medical epidemiologist with Fairfax County, said that data on the impact of COVID-19 on kids is limited.

They said that the infection rate is unknown for kids and added that information is emerging on Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of Children (MIS-C) — a rare but serious COVID-19 complication.

Input from local health data and the Fairfax County Department of Health will inform the final decisions, according to the plan.

“You’re talking hundreds and hundreds of kids coming in at once,” Superintendent Scott Brabrand said, adding that social distancing cannot be guaranteed in schools.

Brabrand said that safety procedures are also important for retaining staff: “We don’t want folks resigning.”

FCPS is looking to get face shields for bus drivers and special education teachers, Brabrand noted. Ricardy Anderson, the representative for the Mason District, called for teachers to receive face shields as well.

If FCPS decides to go with an in-person reopening that alternates days for students, childcare could become an issue for families.

Dranesville District Representative Elaine Tholen suggested that FCPS coordinate with the Fairfax County Park Authority so that families and staff have childcare options.

Tholen proposed a “creative idea” to turn outdoor space at the schools and nearby parks into childcare centers contained in tents, adding that kids could access WiFi outside the schools.

Brabrand and Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren agreed that more childcare is needed, with Brabrand calling it a “great idea.”

As FCPS moves forward with plans for the fall, the school board is aware that the botched rollout of online learning this spring puts more pressure on the school system to get the reopening right.

“We can’t risk another failure like we did before,” Providence District Representative Karl Frisch said.

Brabrand addressed the criticism of the distance learning attempts, saying it’s important that FCPS does not overpromise and under-deliver: “We did that before.”

Families will have several opportunities to provide feedback on the recommendations ahead of the deadline for FCPS to announce a reopening decision on June 26.

FCPS plans to host a town hall on Tuesday, June 16, that will talk about the Return to School plans. The town hall is set to run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and will include Brabrand, the assistant superintendent of Facilities and Transportation Services and the manager of School Health Services.

People can also submit feedback by emailing the superintendent at [email protected] and fill out a survey.

FCPS also plans to hold a virtual public hearing on the Return to School plans at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. People can register online to speak.

Photo via Element5 Digital/Unsplash, infographics via FCPS

Now that Northern Virginia has entered the second reopening phase, Fairfax County is now allowing public swimming with some restrictions.

The county allowed indoor and outdoor swimming pools to open on Friday, June 10, only for lap swimming, diving, exercise and instruction.

Public pools, including ones in communities, cannot open right now for recreational use. Currently, hot tubs, spas, saunas, splash pads, spray pools and interactive features are still closed.

People who operate public aquatic venues can find a list of safety recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some of the suggestions include disinfecting frequently touched areas, ensuring there’s proper ventilation and encouraging swimmers to social distance.

“There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, or water playgrounds. Additionally, proper operation of these aquatic venues and disinfection of the water (with chlorine or bromine) should inactivate the virus,” according to the CDC.

The CDC notes that decisions for whether or how to open the facilities “should be made locally” with input from local health officials.

Fairfax County’s restrictions on public swimming include:

• limiting pool lanes to three people spaced 10 feet apart
• limiting diving areas to three people spaced 10 feet apart
• limiting water classes so participants can stay 10 feet apart
• cleaning and disinfecting shared equipment after each use

How do you feel about using public pools?

COVID-19 prompted restrictions on personal grooming services for two months. Now with Virginia progressing with its phased reopening plan, people can get their hair cut or nails done professionally.

Today, Fairfax County entered the second phase of the reopening plan. Personal grooming services that have reopened are still by appointment-only under the Phase Two guidelines.

Personal care services were first allowed to reopen in the county on May 29. Currently, customers and employees must wear face coverings, and the businesses are limited to 50% capacity.

Let us know in the poll below if you’ve been to a salon, barber, spa, tanning salon and/or tattoo shop since the rollback started on the COVID-19 restrictions. If you have any interesting stories about haircuts at home, let us know in the comments section.

Fairfax County officials want to see the rollout of body-worn cameras for Fairfax County police happen as soon as possible to increase transparency with policing.

“The events in the last couple of weeks both across the country and in Fairfax made the importance of expanding the police body-worn camera program apparent both for improved public safety and transparency,” Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement.

Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors approved asking county staff to look for potential revenue sources to implement the second phase of the program as quickly as possible. The county directed staff to report back by June 30 with the funding options and a potential timeline for the rest of the phases.

McKay said that the county wants to resume the implementation of the program’s second phase during the 2021 fiscal year.

Earlier this year, the county board delayed funding for the phased program due to budget challenges posed by COVID-19, but still kept an increase of $1.77 million increase for the first phase of the program.

Three county district stations already have the cameras, including the Reston District Station.

The motion follows recent calls from several supervisors, including Walter Alcorn and John Foust, to continue the program in the other parts of the county.

County officials are looking for ways to move forward with the program in response to rising concerns about police transparency and use of force following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a Fairfax County police officer allegedly assaulting a black man in the Mt. Vernon area. The Fairfax County officer is facing three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery.

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said that he was initially willing to delay the cameras before, but now said he sees an immediate need for the cameras.

Storck noted that the body-worn camera footage of the Mt. Vernon incident, which the police department released on Sunday (June 7), “dramatically changed” conversations between the police and the community.

Storck added that the police officers he’s spoken to support the cameras.

“I join my colleagues in deep disappointment in what we saw on that police camera this weekend,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said. “It shows that it works.”

McKay mentioned said that the action of a handful of officers — “is not indicative” of the thousands of officers in the Fairfax County Police Department. McKay called the police department “committed” and “well trained.”

He thanked both the police chief and commonwealth’s attorney for their “quick response” to the incident.

Fairfax County Adding Equity Task Force

Work to speed up the police cameras is one of several steps the county is taking to address inequity.

“There is no one policy or program we can enact today that will solve every issue,” McKay said, pointing to previous efforts like adding the county’s Police Civilian Review Panel and independent police auditor.

The Board of Supervisors also unveiled yesterday a new equity task force. “We know this is an issue that requires constant vigilance,” McKay said.

“The Chairman’s Taskforce on Equity and Opportunity will explore the range of situations and conditions that contribute to disproportionate trends, facilitate shared responsibility and collective action, build on the strengths of our community, and lift up solutions to make all residents and neighborhoods more resilient,” according to county documents.

McKay said that the task force will be coordinated by Karla Bruce, the county’s chief equity officer, and her staff with his office. Costs will be absorbed within the existing budget, McKay said.

Each supervisor will provide recommendations for who should serve on the task force, McKay said. He added that the county is aiming for a geographically and demographically balanced membership “to make sure this group is attempting to represent this county as a whole.”

Palchik noted that the county took the “first step forward as we battle through this crisis,” adding that she wants the county to address housing and pre-K programs to combat inequity.

The Fairfax County Health District saw a spike in COVID-19 cases over the weekend.

As of today, there are 12,728 total COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District (12,603 of which are in Fairfax County) — a jump of roughly 700 cases since Friday (June 5), according to the Virginia Department of Health. On Saturday, 152 number of cases were reported, while Sunday saw 399 and Monday so far has 148, according to the data.

The health department’s weekly average of percent positivity for testing has not factored in the recent positive cases. Data from last week showed that the percent positivity has been steadily declining since late April, while the number of testing encounters has increased both statewide and in the Fairfax Health District.

Some of the data has not changed much since last week for the health district.

The health district has the same number of outbreaks (61) today as it did on Friday. The data still shows a racial disparity with COVID-19 cases — the Hispanic population makes up 16.8% of Fairfax County but 66.1% of its cases where race and ethnicity data is available.

As of today, Fairfax County has had 414 deaths and 1,431 total hospitalizations related to the virus.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue posted today that 20 of the 23 personnel members who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered. Currently, two members are quarantined in addition to the members who tested positive.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Fairfax County is nearing its 12,000th COVID-19 case, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

As of today, the county has a total of 11,904 cases, 1,401 hospitalizations and 410 deaths.

Of the 389 outbreaks in Virginia, 61 are in the Fairfax Health District, which includes the county and its towns and cities. Fifty-one are at long term care facilities, while two are healthcare settings and a correctional facility and educational setting both have one.

The Fairfax Health District also has Virginia’s only two reports of cases of the virus with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children.

The Fairfax Health District continues to lead the commonwealth in the number of PCR tests, which directly detect antigens, with more than 55,000 testing encounters.

Statewide and in the Fairfax Health District, the weekly average of the percent of positive tests has been steadily declining since late April and the number of testing encounters has increased, according to VDH.

Even with the increased testing, Fairfax County officials say more is needed to address a growing racial disparity with the cases.

The Hispanic population makes up 16.8% of the population in the Fairfax Health District, but 66.2% of the COVID-19 cases where race and ethnicity data is available, according to Fairfax County and the state health department. In mid-May, the Hispanic population made of 61.3% of the cases. (Roughly 20% of the cases don’t have race and ethnicity data.)

Officials said on Tuesday that they want to see more neighborhood testing sites and testing available for people who are asymptomatic.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash, graph via Virginia Department of Health

Fairfax County announced today (Wednesday) that it will start rolling back some COVID-19 restrictions on Friday (May 29).

The announcement follows Gov. Ralph Northam saying yesterday (Tuesday) that Northern Virginia localities are ready to join the rest of the state with the first reopening phase.

“The Forward Virginia plan provides guidelines that all businesses must follow in the first phase but eases previous restrictions on restaurants, fitness facilities, barbers and beauty salons, other retail businesses and houses of worship,” according to the county.

Here’s what will happen in Fairfax County starts reopening on Friday:

• movie theaters, concert halls, bowling alleys, indoor entertainment will stay closed
• social gatherings of more than 10 people will still be prohibited
• “safer at home” recommendation will still be in place
• restaurants may reopen at 50% of indoor capacity with tables spaced 6 feet apart
• restaurants’ bars will remain closed
• restaurants must use disposable menus and require servers to wear face coverings
• gyms, recreation centers, sports centers and pools may open outside
• indoor pools and spas and outdoor basketball and racquetball courts will stay closed
• salons and barbers can open at 50% capacity and require appointments
• retailers may reopen at 50% capacity and employees must wear face coverings
• houses or worship may hold services at 50% capacity, face coverings encouraged

A joint letter sent Monday from officials in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, said that their health directors’ assessment of the pandemic supports the partial reopening.

“[The public health directors] have noted the regional attainment of four of the critical metrics and assessed the need for continued focus on expanding our contact tracing capacity and developing sustainable supplies of PPE,” the letter said.

After a surge of new jobless claims seeking unemployment benefits in April, Fairfax County is seeing a steady decline in initial unemployment claims.

Roughly 5,300 initial unemployment claims were filed in the county for the week of May 16 — a drop from 7,000 during the week of May 2, according to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission.

Meanwhile, continued unemployment claims — now at 47,000 for the week of May 16 — are rising less quickly in the county.

The county’s unemployment trends mirror statewide data.

More from the VEC:

For the filing week ending May 16, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial claims in Virginia was 44,699. The latest claims figure was a decrease of 7,440 claimants from the previous week. The weekly total was the lowest since before the initial spike in unemployment insurance claims during the March 21 filing week.

For the most recent filing week, continued weeks claimed totaled 403,557, up 2.8% from the previous week and 385,380 higher than the 18,177 continued claims from the comparable week last year.

The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus far, continued claims during the May 16 filing equaled 56% of all initial claims filed during the pandemic. This percentage was a significant drop-off from the previous week.

VEC’s preliminary data indicate that the pandemic has hurt the accommodation and food service industry the most.

Workers in that industry “continued to see the greatest percentage of continued claims for unemployment benefits” for the May 16 filing week, VEC said. “Moreover, claimants in that industry comprised over a quarter of pre-pandemic payroll employment.”

Data and image via Virginia Employment Commission

(Updated 5/20/2020) Before Orange and Silver line stations temporarily close this Saturday (May 23), Fairfax County officials for the Tysons and Vienna areas want to know more about the closures’ impact.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn plan to hold a virtual town hall on Thursday (May 21), according to staff from Palchik’s office.

The discussion will include representatives from WMATA and the county’s transportation department.

All Orange and Silver line stations west of the Ballston station will be closed through the fall for platform reconstruction at the four Orange Line stations and work to connect the Silver Line with the upcoming stations running from Reston to Ashburn.

The town hall is set to start at 6:30 p.m. People can register online.

Photo by Jay Westcott

Fairfax County continues to have thousands of unemployment claims during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 7,000 initial unemployment claims were filed in the county for the week of May 2, according to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission.

The latest data shows a slow decrease of claims in the county from a spike during the week of April 4. Fairfax County had the largest number of initial claims in Virginia for the May 2 filing week.

“Most areas reported declining numbers of claims compared to the previous week,” the VEC said. “Fairfax reported the largest over-the-week decrease (-2,097).”

Meanwhile, the number of continued claims keeps rising in Fairfax County from nearly 3,000 in late March to 30,000 in mid-April to more than 44,000 during the week of May 2.

The data shows a decrease in the number of claimants from the previous week for Virginia, but the VEC warns that the volume of initial claims “may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time.”

More data on the trends for initial and continued claims in Virginia:

Data and image via Virginia Employment Commission

While seniors at public schools in Fairfax County may have to wait until the fall for ceremonies, they will have opportunities this spring to celebrate finishing high school.

In a message to families yesterday, Superintendent Scott Brabrand shared that the school board has agreed to his proposals on how to recognize graduating seniors.

“We are committed to celebrating our seniors in the safest and most personalized manner possible,” Brabrand said. “We share the disappointment that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closure placed on our senior class.”

Instead of in-person ceremonies this spring, the high schools will schedule individual graduate photo opportunities starting in June where the student and a small group of family members can watch the student get their diploma and have their photo taken.

Fairfax County Public Schools also plans to produce a celebration video with videos submitted by students. Brabrand said that the video will be available for free to everyone in the class of 2020.

If COVID-19 does not pose a health risk in the fall, each school may schedule an in-person ceremony, Brabrand said.

He noted that state health department data indicates that summer ceremonies would “pose too many health risks and too much uncertainty with regard to social distancing requirements and restrictions on large gatherings.” More details will be announced around Labor Day.

“If a fall in-person ceremony cannot be held for health and safety reasons, then we will consider scheduling the face to face ceremony in the winter or next spring,” Brabrand said.

Photo via Tai’s Captures/Unsplash

Gov. Ralph Northam is allowing Northern Virginia localities two extra weeks to start reopening as the rest of the state readies for the first reopening phase this Friday.

Northam’s order that was announced today (Tuesday) delays the reopening, which is outlined in phases, for Fairfax County and other localities in Northern Virginia until midnight on May 28.

Following pressure from county officials to stall their reopening deadlines, Northam said that the decision is “to allow those localities more time to meet the health metrics.”

“While the data show Virginia as a whole is are ready to slowly and deliberately ease some restrictions, it is too soon for Northern Virginia,” Northam said. “I support the request from localities in this region to delay implementation of Phase One to protect public health.”

The localities included are:

• Arlington County
• Fairfax County
• Loudoun County
• Prince William County
• City of Alexandria
• City of Fairfax
• City of Falls Church
• City of Manassas
• City of Manassas Park
• Town of Dumfries
• Town of Herndon
• Town of Leesburg
• Town of Vienna

More from Northam’s announcement:

Data show that Northern Virginia is substantially higher than the rest of the Commonwealth in percentage of positive tests for COVID-19, for example. The Northern Virginia Region has about a 25 percent positivity rate, while the rest of the Commonwealth is closer to 10 percent.  Further, in the last 24 hours, the Northern Virginia Region reported over 700 cases, while the rest of the Commonwealth reported approximately 270. On any given day, 70 percent of the Commonwealth’s positive cases are attributable to the Northern Virginia Region.

Northam has said he plans to provide more information on how the reopening will work for Northern Virginia on Wednesday.

Image via Governor Ralph Northam/Facebook

Yesterday, the Fairfax  County Health Department announced that the county’s COVID-19 dashboard now includes more granular zip code data.

The newly expanded data also offers information on probable cases, deaths by age groups and COVID-19 testing by week, according to the county.

“Per the direction of Governor Ralph Northam, and in coordination with Virginia Department of Health (VDH), case rates are now presented by 5-digit ZIP codes,” according to the county. “The recent data release is a change from VDH’s long-standing policy not to disclose data at the ZIP code level.”

The data from the dashboard shows that the Dunn Loring zip code 22027 has the highest number of cases per 100,000 people: 39 cases among a population of 2,362.

As of today, Fairfax County has reported 6,470 cases, 972 hospitalizations and 253 deaths, according to the state health department.

The zip codes for Reston — 20191, 20190 and 20194 — have a combined total of 262 cases. Zip code 20170, which includes Herndon, has 308 cases.

“Cases represent a place of residence and not necessarily where transmission may have occurred. This information should not be used to measure individual risk,” according to the dashboard.

The Fairfax Health District, which includes the county and its cities and towns, has 45 outbreaks with 41 at long term care facilities and one each at a correctional facility, educational setting and healthcare setting.

Map via Fairfax County