Arlington has seen a week-long decline in the rate of new coronavirus hospitalizations, according to the latest state health department data.
Should that trend hold for another week, it would help meet the county’s five conditions to begin a phased reopening. Officials have said that a sustained 14-day downward trend in hospitalizations is No. 1 on the county’s reopening criteria.
Another criterion — an increase in testing — does not appear to be coming to fruition yet. State data shows the average number of daily tests remaining steady over the course of last week.
New data from the Virginia Dept. of Health reports 1,638 known COVID-19 cases in Arlington, along with 323 cumulative hospitalizations and 77 deaths. That’s an increase of 104 cases, 17 hospitalizations and 6 deaths from Friday.
A total of 37 hospitalizations have been reported over the past 7 days, down from a peak of 92 just a week ago.
On Friday Virginia Hospital Center, which has been treating patients from both Arlington and surrounding areas, reported — via a sign inside the hospital — that it has discharged 536 coronavirus patients and had 19 successfully get off ventilators. The hospital is not publicly reporting current hospitalizations or ventilator usage.
As of Monday there had been 6,213 standard lab-based coronavirus “testing encounters” in Arlington, according to state data. The seven-day moving average test positivity rate was down slightly, to 23.9%, but well above the 10% rate considered an indication of adequate testing.
Statewide, as of Monday, there have been a total of 31,140 COVID-19 cases, 3,822 hospitalizations and 1,014 deaths in Virginia, according to VDH.
Masks Required on Metro Starting Today — “Face coverings or masks be required when traveling on Metro effective Monday, May 18. The move strengthens Metro’s position on the matter, which has ‘strongly recommended’ the use of face coverings since early April.” [WMATA]
ACPD Officer Lends a Hand — Despite the challenges facing emergency responders during the pandemic, an Arlington County police officer helped a pair of residents with some heavy lifting for a DIY project in their yard over the weekend. [@dmvbbacademy/Twitter]
Little League Still Hoping to Play — “Arlington Little League has not yet given up on some kind of spring and summer baseball season… Until now, the 2020 season has not started in a league that consists of nearly 1,500 players because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” [InsideNova]
VHC Gets Gear Donation from Ford — “Many thanks to @Ford for their donation of 10k face shields! We are grateful for this show of support for those on the front lines.” [@VHC_Hospital/Twitter]
Local GOP Planning Drive-Thru Convention — “The 8th District Republican Committee is still finalizing the details, but expects to hold an unassembled caucus – dubbed a ‘drive-through convention’ – on May 30 in Springfield… delegates will be able to drive up, pick up a ballot, complete it and hand it back without leaving their vehicles. The results of voting will determine whether Mark Ellmore or Jeff Jordan will be the Republican nominee facing U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) on Nov. 3.” [InsideNova]
Celtic House Looking Forward to Dine-In — “At Celtic House in Arlington, the business owners say they’re down at least 80 percent due to the coronavirus closures. They hope leaders will soon allow dining inside as their space is very limited on the patio… ‘It has really affected us a lot,’ said co-owner Michael McMahon about the coronavirus crisis… So far, he says they’ve been able to keep on all of their 19 workers.” [Gray DC Bureau]
With summer knocking on the door, there is a sense of both hope and foreboding in the air. We might be getting close to a gradual return to normal life, at last, but what if things go horribly wrong?
Via Twitter, here’s a scene tonight that probably doesn’t portend good things:
Ultimately, there is no crystal ball to tell us how things will turn out — we’ll just have to take it one day at a time, as we’ve been doing for the past two months.
One thing we are able to state with certainty: the most-read articles on ARLnow over the past week.
(Updated at 8 p.m.) Arlington’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC), which handles 911 calls and the dispatching of emergency personnel, was evacuated late Friday afternoon, ARLnow has learned.
The evacuation happened around 4 p.m. Police officers were told during that time to restrict all radio transmissions to emergency traffic only. There was no indication that the disruption affected any crucial police operations.
A county spokeswoman tells ARLnow that the evacuation was due to a possible coronavirus case.
“Due to an employee reporting symptoms consistent with COVID-19 — and out of an abundance of caution — the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is going through a deep-clean,” said Jennifer K. Smith. “The ECC relocated to the alternate ECC today, which provides 100% redundancy, and we expect the ECC to be back in its primary space Saturday evening.”
“Arlington maintains comprehensive continuity of operations plans to ensure continued access to critical services in public safety, including 911,” she added.
The backup facility has some drawbacks when it comes to mitigating the spread of disease, ARLnow hears, including being smaller, with less room for social distancing among the dispatchers.
As the region moves closer to a potential reopening after Memorial Day, however, Arlington officials say residents should expect things to move slowly, and a bit unevenly.
Within the parks department, for instance, officials said in a virtual town hall today (Friday) that different facilities will be reopening at different stages of recovery.
While some trails in Arlington remain open to socially distant outdoor uses, Assistant County Manager Jim Schwartz said facilities like basketball and tennis courts will continue to be closed until at least May 29, the earliest that Northern Virginia is expected to join other parts of the Commonwealth in a phased reopening plan.
Schwartz also said that some facilities within the parks department could experience further delays in reopening.
“Recreation centers may be opened later,” Schwartz said. “Indoor activities have to be managed differently.”
The county has not reached a decision on whether or not to cancel summer camps, he added.
“We will be making a decision next week for upcoming summer camps,” Schwartz said. “Just about all of our regional partners have announced they are closing or not doing summer camps. We will make that decision next week.”
Dr. Reuben Varghese, the county’s Director of Public Health, said Arlington is bracing for a bump in coronavirus cases once the restrictions are lifted, regardless of warnings and advice offered by county health officials.
“We will be expecting a bump,” Varghese said. “I will be very happy to be wrong… but people will be having physical interactions within six feet.”
Officials asked the public not to rush into public interactions once the restrictions start easing off.
“Even though we’re all eager to get back to the things we love,” said County Board member Matt de Ferranti, “if we aren’t careful and play it safe we can put people at risk.”
The video of the hour-long town virtual hall is below.
The Amazon HQ2 construction site in Pentagon City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
The Amazon HQ2 construction site in Pentagon City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Overhead view of Amazon HQ2 construction site in Pentagon City (photo via Clark Construction)
The Amazon HQ2 construction site in Pentagon City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
As promised last week, Clark Construction is wrapping up pile driving at the Amazon HQ2 site in Pentagon City today, two weeks ahead of schedule.
That’s good news for Amazon’s new neighbors. The noisy work drew protests from those sheltering at home in the apartment buildings around the S. Eads Street construction site, and TV news crews reporting on the complaints.
A spokesman for Clark, the general contractor building the first phase of Amazon’s permanent second headquarters, tells ARLnow that work is proceeding quickly.
“Clark is on track to complete pile driving operations later today, two weeks ahead of our initial projection,” said Marcel Goldstein. “Pile driving is by far the noisiest of all construction operations. Going forward, neighbors should expect to hear the typical noise of dump trucks and other construction equipment/activities occurring on site. We will continue to abide by Arlington County’s noise ordinance.”
The next round of work includes the excavation of nearly a half-million cubic yards of dirt, to make way for the 2.1 million square foot office-and-retail development.
“Crews will continue to advance mass excavation activities on site, which are anticipated to continue for the next 5 months,” the spokesman said. “Mass excavation entails removing 440,000 cubic yards of soil from the jobsite. The team has removed 75,000 cubic yards of soil to date, representing 17% of the total scope of work.”
“Clark remains focused on building a positive relationship and ongoing dialogue with project neighbors,” Goldstein continued. “Community members can contact us and get the latest construction information by visiting our website: metpark678.com.”
The project website says that construction crews are taking measures to stay safe and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. It also notes that while crews abide by a work schedule set by the county, there’s another noise source that nearby residents may hear at all hours: generators working to drain water from the deepening construction pit.
“The project team is working in compliance with Arlington County’s noise ordinance and operates within the County’s permitted work hours of 7 AM to 9 PM (Mon-Fri) and 9 AM to 9 PM (Sat, Sun, and Holidays),” the website says. “Construction crews continue to utilize generators on site to support dewatering operations, which are running 24 hours a day,” the website says.
Phase 1 of HQ2 is expected to be completed in 2023. A second phase of nearly the same size is planned for the nearby Pen Place site, on the other side of 12th Street S.
New data from the Virginia Dept. of Health suggests there is not nearly enough coronavirus testing being done in Arlington.
The state health department has added testing data, sortable by locality, to its COVID-19 information page. The data for Arlington shows that there are currently only around 150 virus tests being performed and reported per day, and an average positivity rate just above 25%.
While that’s in line with overall figures discussed by Gov. Ralph Northam earlier this week — about 25% positivity in Northern Virginia compared to 10% for the rest of the state — it’s well above the 10% positivity rate that the World Health Organization recommends as an indication of adequate testing.
The VDH data only includes PCR tests reported by labs and excludes serology tests and, presumably, less sensitive tests on point-of-care machines like the Abbott Labs device used by the White House.
The lack of testing is a hindrance to hopes for a safe, phased reopening of Arlington and the rest of Northern Virginia. While the rest of the Commonwealth starts to reopen today, Gov. Ralph Northam is — for now — giving Northern Virginia and some other localities until Friday, May 29. Arlington County officials have said it’s too soon to safely reopen here.
Unless the testing rate increases, labs will be testing less than 2% of the Arlington population each month, despite efforts like the new walk-up testing site along Columbia Pike. County officials have said that increased testing is one of the five conditions that should be met in order for Arlington to start reopening.
The state health department, meanwhile, reported 35 new COVID-19 cases in Arlington overnight, bringing the county’s total known cases to 1,534. One additional death and only one new hospitalization were reported, bringing those totals to 71 and 306 respectively.
Statewide, VDH is reporting 28,672 total cases, 3,657 hospitalization, 977 deaths and 176,681 PCR-based “testing encounters.”
The Arlington County Police Department is expanding its online reporting system, to allow more police reports to be filed online during the era of social distancing.
ACPD says members of the public can now file reports of minor property damage crashes online, instead of needing to do so in person. The online reporting system has also now been translated into Spanish, the police department says.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to help mitigate and reduce any unnecessary exposure and spread of COVID-19, ACPD asks that the public report applicable non-emergency incidents using the online reporting system,” the police website says. “Officers continue to proactively patrol the County and respond to in-progress crimes and emergency calls where there is an immediate threat to life, health or property.”
More from a police press release:
The Arlington County Police Department is announcing the expansion of its online police reporting system. The system update builds upon the County’s comprehensive effort to improve service delivery through its website and online platforms to better meet the needs of our constituents.
Updates to the online reporting system include:
Expanded Reporting Capabilities: The addition of crash reporting enables you to file a property damage report online, instead of completing the report in-person or submitting it by mail. The following types of crashes can now be filed online:
Crash – Hit and Run: Damage caused by another vehicle in which the driver should have left information or fled the scene without stopping to provide information.
Crash – No Injury (less than $1,500 damage): You are involved in a minor crash and need to report the information to police for insurance purposes.
Crash – Private Property: You are involved in a minor crash on private property or you are the owner of the property.
Crashes with injury, or with more than $1,500 in damage should be reported to police by calling 703-558-2222 or 911 in an emergency.
County Opposes Second McD’s Drive-Thru Window — “Maybe, in the end, they can all sit down amicably over a Happy Meal. But the mood was decidedly unhappy when the Arlington County Board and representatives of McDonald’s recently tangled over redevelopment of the restaurant chain’s 60-year-old outlet in the 4800 block of Lee Highway.” [InsideNova]
Sloppy Mama’s to Reopen Today — “Sloppy Mama’s BBQ owner Joe Neuman also isn’t in a rush to open his dining room, though he is launching takeout at his Arlington restaurant on Friday. He received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which has terms that reward businesses that rehire staff. Neuman closed Sloppy Mama’s on March 16, just as barbecue season beckoned.” [Washington City Paper]
Va. Trying to Ramp Up Testing — “As the state plans to reopen on Friday — though it will delay Northern Virginia’s reopening until after Memorial Day — the commonwealth is still not meeting Gov. Ralph Northam’s testing goal of 10,000 tests a day. This week, Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management signed contracts with three commercial labs in an effort to ramp up testing as the state gears up to reopen.” [DCist]
March Hotel Occupancy Rate Shows Big Drop — “Arlington hotel and motel occupancy took a pummeling in March as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold… March’s occupancy rate of 34.5 percent for Arlington resulted in a first-quarter occupancy rate of 52.3 percent.” [InsideNova]
GMA Profiles YHS Senior Photo Project — “In Arlington, Virginia, photographer Matt Mendelsohn has made it his mission to give the senior class of Yorktown High School the celebration they deserve… With the growing popularity of his project, which he’s named ‘Not Forgotten: The Yorktown Seniors of 2020,’ he’s enlisted the help from his daughter on shoots and a parent.” [Good Morning America]
Library Launches Virtual Career Services — “Arlington Public Library is offering virtual one-on-one appointments to job seekers who want career help or to improve their resume. All appointments are free and confidential. Appointments are available Mondays and Thursdays, 5:30-7 p.m., and Tuesdays, 9:30-11 a.m. No library card is required.” [Arlington County]
Signature Helps With Inn’s Mannequins — “Instead of letting tables sit vacant, the [Inn at Little Washington] chef plans to outfit his dining rooms with mannequins… The chef (who majored in drama in college) has been working with Shirlington’s Signature Theatre to get the faux humans costumed in 1940s-era garb. Servers will be instructed to pour them wine and to ask them about their evening.” [Washingtonian, Eater]
Broken windows at scene of Bluemont apartment incident (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police on scene of Bluemont apartment incident (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police on scene of Bluemont apartment incident (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police on scene of Bluemont apartment incident (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man is in police custody after he allegedly went berserk at an apartment building in the Bluemont neighborhood, near Ballston.
The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. and drew a crowd outside the building.
Initial details are sketchy, but Arlington County Police say they were dispatched to the 800 block of N. Wakefield Street for a report of a man damaging property. Upon officers arriving, the man threw a dumbbell out of an apartment window, according to police.
Broken windows could be seen on the third floor of the building. Firefighters also responded and were asked to evaluate a possible gas leak from an appliance in the apartment, according to scanner traffic.
Officers were ultimately able to arrest the suspect.
“The subject was taken into custody and will be transported to an area hospital for evaluation,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “”No officers were injured.”
“We remain on scene investigating,” Savage added. “There’s no ongoing threat to the community.”
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Amazon food donation to Virginia Hospital Center from Freddie’s Beach Bar (photo courtesy Live Wire Strategic Communications)
Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant (photo via Freddie’s/Facebook)
(Updated 6:30 p.m.)Amazon has purchased 1,753 meals from Crystal City restaurant Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant (555 23rd Street S.) and donated the meals to Virginia Hospital Center.
Some of the meals were dropped off this morning, a spokesperson said, noting that while all of the meals were ordered from Freddie’s, future orders are planned for other restaurants in the tech giant’s new neighborhood.
“The whole thing has been going very smoothly,” said Freddie Lutz, the eponymous owner of Freddie’s Beach Bar. “We put together 247 lunches and 105 dinners tonight [for the first round]. We had a caravan of cars.”
Lutz said the partnership with Amazon has allowed Lutz to bring nine of his staff back to work and prepare to open the bar and restaurant for takeout and delivery, which he said he’s planning to start tomorrow (Friday).
“I have another restaurant down the street, Federico Ristorante Italiano, [which has] been open for a week,” Lutz said. “It’s not like being open [during normal times], but it’s some income. This gives us a chance to get ready for carryout and delivery. Everybody is worried about ‘can we survive, can we stay open’ but this helps.”
Nearby restaurants Young Chow and Enjera also supplied meals for the drive.
Amazon said in the press release that the goal was to both support local restaurants through the pandemic and support the hospital staff.
“Meal drop-offs like the one Amazon is making at Virginia Hospital Center allow these local restaurants to continue paying their employees and bring additional employees back to work to safely cook and deliver the meals,” the company said in a press release. “Amazon has committed to purchasing 10,000 meals in May from Arlington restaurants including Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, [Crystal City] Sports Pub, Enjera, and Urban Thai.”
Lutz said that with Amazon continuing to grow its HQ2 presence, the partnership supplying food to VHC is good practice for potentially making more food deliveries to Amazon events and employees down the road.
The press release noted that Amazon is also making food deliveries to the Arlington County Police Department and Sheriff’s Office, as well as to Arlington and Alexandria firefighters.
“During this unprecedented time, Amazon is working to not only support our frontline healthcare workers and first responders across the Arlington area, but also our most vulnerable neighbors in immediate need,” said Brian Huseman, Vice President of Public Policy at Amazon. “We are proud to work alongside Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, a beloved local restaurant in our new neighborhood, to ensure that we’re thanking our neighbors who are keeping us safe and caring for our neighbors who need extra support right now with hearty meals throughout May.”
Other individuals, nonprofits and companies have donated everything from gowns to meals to Virginia Hospital Center during the pandemic.
