coronavirus

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local 911 Dispatchers Can Work Remotely — “On Wednesday, Jan. 13, the Arlington County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) became one of the first centers in the nation to implement capabilities that allow fire and emergency medical services (EMS) dispatchers and supervisors to deliver critical emergency communications services no matter where they are. Now, Arlington Fire-EMS dispatchers and supervisors are able work from a remote location, including from home.” [Arlington County]

Grocery Workers Unaware of Vaccine Availability — “Grocery store workers in Arlington can now sign up for Covid vaccine… But Arlington County is apparently not notifying grocery store workers about this option… At our local Arlington grocery store, a staff person in the management office indicated they were not aware of either option, when my wife and I called.” [Blue Virginia]

Apple Stores Temporarily Closing — Updated at 8:55 a.m. — “Apple is temporarily closing its Washington, D.C. retail stores ahead of the United States presidential inauguration. Five stores in the Washington metro area will close through at least January 21… Stores in Arlington, VA at Pentagon City and Clarendon, as well as in Maryland at Bethesda Row will close from Saturday.” [9to5Mac]

Beyer Wants Cameras for Federal Officers — “Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) announced today that they will reintroduce their Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act, which would require uniformed federal police officers, including U.S. Capitol Police, to wear body cameras and have dashboard cameras in police vehicles.” [Press Release]

Attempted Armed Robbery on Columbia Pike — “At approximately 8:18 p.m. on January 13, police were dispatched to the late report of an attempted armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 5:04 p.m., the suspect was inside a business when they approached the front of the store, threatened the victim with a knife and demanded they open the drawer to the cash register. The suspect then fled the business when the victim yelled and another employee ran to the front of the store.” [ACPD]

Water Main Repair on Carlin Springs Road — “Water main break… Tomorrow, Friday Jan. 15, from 7am to 5pm, the two center lanes on S Carlin Springs Rd from 1st St S to 3rd St S will be closed. A traffic detour will be in place.” [Twitter]

Pelosi Endorses McAuliffe — “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Terry McAuliffe’s campaign in a very crowded Democratic primary that will winnow the field of those seeking to be the next governor of Virginia.” [Axios]

APS Vaccination Effort Hits Tech Snag

By ARLnow.com

Arlington health officials are working to ramp up the pace of vaccinations, but the effort to vaccinate Arlington Public Schools staff has hit a snag.

School staff are set to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1b of Virginia’s vaccination effort. But in a memo to APS employees this morning, Superintendent Francisco Durán acknowledged “frustration” over “technology issues [staff] encountered with the appointment process.”

“Arlington rolled out vaccine registration last night around 6 p.m.,” one APS staffer told ARLnow, describing what happened. “Two e-mails were sent and a response was required to both emails in order to set up an appointment.”

“Some staff, however, only received one email and couldn’t register. Some staff — including many assistants already working with students in Level One — didn’t receive either email,” the staffer continued. “And the staff who did believe they had registered last night received an email late last night informing them that the system had crashed and they might not really have an appointment.”

Another tipster told us: “Anecdotally, I only know a couple staff who DID receive the emails from [the health department]. The process is opaque, as we have only been told to expect an email, and we have no idea how scheduling will work.”

A county health department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment this afternoon.

Durán’s memo is below.

Dear Colleagues,

Yesterday, the Arlington County Public Health Department released information about COVID-19 vaccinations and sent emails inviting you to schedule appointments for initial educator clinics being held this Saturday and Monday. I want you to know that we are aware of the technology issues they encountered with the appointment process. I am also aware that some staff may not have received one or both of the emails that were sent by the Health Department. All Arlington Public Schools employee information was provided to the Public Health Department in advance of this process.

I share in the frustration many of you are experiencing and have conveyed that to the Public Health Department as they work to address this issue. We have offered assistance to the Health Department to resolve this issue swiftly. You can expect additional next steps from the Health Department as they work through the system and ensure that all staff are able to make an appointment and get the vaccine.

If you do not receive a confirmed appointment on one of these two initial dates, you will have other opportunities to make appointments soon. There are additional events being planned soon to meet the high demand.

I am with you in this process and will continue to follow up to ensure it gets resolved.

Dr. Francisco Durán
Superintendent

Despite the problems, Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia said vaccinations “will begin this weekend.” (Neighboring Fairfax County is also planning to begin vaccinations for school staff this weekend.)

Some staff members who are already back in schools and working with students have voiced complaints about not being first in line to receive the vaccines. Bellavia said no APS employees are being given priority over others.

“Arlington Public Schools has a significant portion of positions that interface with students from food service to bus drivers to assistants to teachers,” he said. “All employees are provided the same priority since the majority of our employees are school-based and work directly with students.”

APS employees are set to return to school buildings starting later this month.

County Asks for Buildings to Be Lit, Church Bells to Ring In Memory of Lives Lost to COVID

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County will be participating in a national event “honoring the lives we have lost to COVID-19” next week.

The event is happening at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, in connection with the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The county is encouraging churches to ring their bells, businesses to light their buildings, and residents to put a lighted candle in a window.

“Although the memorial is part of the inauguration event, we view it as a non-partisan effort to bring our nation together to honor those who have died, reflect on this challenging period in our history and commit to ending this pandemic,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti wrote to businesses today, encouraging their participation.

More than 380,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S., including nearly 4,000 yesterday alone, according to the New York Times.

In Arlington, 82 new cases were reported overnight, bringing the seven-day trailing average of new daily cases down to 117. During the course of the pandemic, 187 people have died from COVID-19 in Arlington, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. One additional death was reported Wednesday.

More from a county press release:

The Arlington County Board today invited all Arlingtonians to participate on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in an event of national unity and remembrance honoring the lives we have lost to COVID-19.

“I hope that every Arlingtonian will join County Government in honoring those who have died, offering comfort to those they have left behind, and committing to defeating this pandemic and recovering,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said. “Amidst concerns for public safety around inaugural activities, this memorial event offers an opportunity for our community to make a powerful statement of unity while staying home and staying safe.”

Arlington will join communities across the nation in remembering the more than 380,000 people who have died in the United States from COVID-19. At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, just as a pre-inauguration vigil begins at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in the District of Columbia, County Government has asked that church bells ring and that other houses of worship and Arlington businesses light their buildings, while residents place a lighted candle in a window.

“We ask all our residents, our business community, our faith community, and our non-profit organizations to join us in this powerful gesture of comfort, remembrance, and hope,” de Ferranti said.

As Vaccinations Continue, County Officials Are Trying To Find Ways To Move Quicker

By Matt Blitz

(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) Arlington County Board members are asking why vaccinations are not going faster, amid a pace that would take more than two years to dose the county’s adult population.

This past weekend the county got the go-ahead from the state to start vaccinating those in the Phase 1b priority group. But questions remain about how exactly the county will push forward and why less than 2% of the county’s adult population has received a vaccine dose so far, one month after the first vaccine was authorized for use.

Arlington County public health director Reuben Varghese told the County Board yesterday afternoon that, while the county is looking to vaccinate 1,200 people a week, it has yet to hit that number.

The reason, he said, is that the county is still establishing infrastructure to do it. It’s a tough task since considerable space is needed due to social distancing, he said, but the health department is trying to rectify that.

Arlington Public Schools has agreed to allow use of an auditorium at the Syphax Education Center on Washington Blvd. There, Varghese says, they’ll be able to have up to 19 vaccinators and vaccinate residents every two to five minutes.

More large spaces are being discussed, including working with more pharmacies and setting up vaccination stations in community centers. There’s also thought of opening a weekend clinic, particularly to vaccinate childcare workers and teachers.

“Obviously, I’d love the Pentagon parking lot, but that’s probably not going to happen,” says Varghese.

It’s a balancing act or an “art,” he said, between public demand, getting doses from the state, and having the ability to actually vaccinate.

County Board member Takis Karantonis said he heard from a number of eligible residents that they have registered, but are getting mid to late February vaccination dates.

Varghese responded that this made sense. In order to get more doses from the state, the county needs to show the state their the ability to vaccinate matches the number of doses being provided.

“The state is trying to make sure we are not hoarding vaccine,” he said. 

Going forward, Varghese says he’s trying to make vaccinating more efficient and lower the administrative burden. This includes perhaps not delineating between and consolidating certain subsections and phases. Virginia’s Phase 1c, for instance includes older residents, those with certain health conditions, and 12 separate categories of essential workers, including lawyers and bankers.

The next groups set to be vaccinated are food and agriculture workers, grocery store employees, mail carriers, public transit workers, and county officials. But the federal government is advocating to start vaccinating individuals over 65 and those with chronic medical conditions now. Those folks are technically in Phase 1c.

Varghese agreed with the federal recommendations.

“When you start looking at who falls into all of these categories in Phase 1c, there’s a lot of individual overlap with the general public,” he said. “My personal observation is that we just ask ‘who’s interested?’ and move forward with the general public. The advantage of that is you don’t have to send out lists or figure out organizations. You can just… ask for all-comers.”

At a time when health department staff is stretched thin and overworked, it would be helpful to simplify the process. Even with changes, however, widespread vaccine distribution may still be months away.

As of Wednesday morning, 3,653 vaccine doses had been administered in Arlington, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. With an average vaccination rate of just over 225 doses per day over the past week, it would take the 843 days to administer a dose to the remainder of Arlington’s adult population.

(more…)

Hospitality Worker Relief Program Coming to Crystal City

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Hook Hall Helps, a D.C.-based relief program aimed at helping hospitality industry workers, is coming to Crystal City.

First started in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, the program provides meal kits to those in the local hospitality industry impacted by layoffs, hours reductions, mandatory shutdowns, and capacity restrictions.

In addition to its original D.C. location, the program will also now distribute kits from The Freshman, the yet-to-open cafe at 2011 Crystal Drive.

“Northwest D.C. is not the easiest place to get to for everyone,” Hook Hall Helps founder Anna Valero, who also owns the bar and event space Hook Hall, tells ARLnow. “What was important to us in choosing to expand to another location was accessibility. The hope is being able to provide and meet people more where they are.”

Meal kit distribution is happening every Thursday from 3-5 p.m., starting this week, “while there’s a need,” says Valero.

What made The Freshman attractive as the program’s second outpost is that it is on different Metro and bus lines as Hook Hall, while providing more parking. Plus, Valero says, restaurant owner Nick Freshman’s “values aligned, he’s a fantastic individual in the hospitality community, and he generously offered his space.”

Despite announcing its opening nearly two years ago, The Freshman has yet to open due to the pandemic. Nick Freshman is also a co-owner of Clarendon’s Spider Kelly’s.

The meal kits are made up of three ready-made meals and a “supply” kit with canned soup, granola bars, fruit, toilet paper, and feminine hygiene products.

The kits are being crafted by Valero and a rotating list of local restaurants, including nearby Indian eatery Rasa. Beyond providing meals, the program also helps restaurateurs keep staff employed.

From last March to the end of June, Hook Hall was providing meals on a daily basis, supported by donations to the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. The program raised more than $600,000 and provided more than 10,000 meals during that time frame.

They paused operations in the summer due to patios reopening and restaurants able to increase staffing and operations because of outdoor dining.

However, Valero knew that the winter was coming.

“We made a strategic decision… to essentially hold back as much of the funds that had been raised to that point, knowing that when winter came, it was going to be difficult,” she says.

They re-started the program at Hook Hall at the end of December with distribution on Mondays while adding an Arlington location.

(more…)

County Launching Free COVID-19 Testing at Kiosks

By ARLnow.com

Through a partnership with a California company, Arlington County will be offering no-charge, walk-up COVID-19 testing starting Wednesday.

The county announced the partnership this morning, in a press release (below). Los Angeles-based startup Curative has placed testing kiosks in two county-owned parking lots in south Arlington; both are set to open tomorrow, operating from 12-8 p.m. seven days per week.

The locations are:

  • Aurora Hills Community Center (735 18th Street S.)
  • Tucker Field at Barcroft Park (4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive)

The tests are performed at no cost or co-pay to the individual, but those with health insurance will have their insurance providers billed. Results are expected within 48-72 hours.

Curative has thousands of testing locations across the U.S., but the accuracy of the tests was questioned in a recent Food and Drug Administration advisory. As a result, the country’s most populous county has discontinued use of the tests.

“In the wake of a federal report that warned of false negative results, the use of Curative COVID-19 PCR tests is being discontinued at Los Angeles County-supported pop-up testing sites, the Department of Health Services said in a statement Sunday,” the NBC station in LA reported on Monday.

The press release from Arlington County is below.

To expand access to COVID-19 testing options, Arlington County is launching no-cost, kiosk-based testing sites, in partnership with the private testing company Curative.

The two testing sites, located in the parking lots of Aurora Hills Community Center (735 18th St. S.) and Tucker Field at Barcroft Park (4200 S. Four Mile Run Dr.) will open on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, continuing the County’s efforts to limit community spread and provide more testing options in areas disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Both locations, operated by Curative, will be open seven days a week, 12-8 p.m.

Tests are offered at no cost and do not require a doctor referral or government identification, regardless of insurance or immigration status. Participants will be asked for insurance information, if available, so insurance providers can be billed, but no co-pay from participants will be required. Walk-up testing is available, although residents are encouraged to make an appointment on the Curative website. Kiosk service is available in English and Spanish.

Curative, which operates more than 8,000 testing sites across the country, uses a mouth-swab test that is self-administered under the supervision of a Curative worker in a kiosk. The swab is then placed inside a biohazard bag and returned to the Curative worker. Swabs from the Arlington kiosks will be delivered each night to a lab in Washington, D.C. Test results will be sent electronically to patients within 48 to 72 hours.

Visit Curative’s website for Common Q&As and Advice. Contact Curative’s Customer Success team at [email protected] or 888-702-9042 for questions or additional assistance.

Video instructions on how to correctly self-perform the test, reducing the risk of inaccurate results, is below.

Photo courtesy Jane Green

‘The G.O.A.T’ Has Officially Closed in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
1/4

The G.O.A.T, a sports bar and lounge at 3028 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon, in the former Hard Times space, has closed permanently.

The bar remained closed for months during the pandemic, but its owners recently decided to make what was initially a temporary closure permanent. Retail leasing signs are now up in the windows, equipment was removed from the space, and the bar’s former website is defunct.

“We are moving on to other projects,” G.O.A.T partner Scott Parker confirmed to ARLnow this morning. “[Coronavirus] made it too difficult to sustain.”

G.O.A.T had the backing of Parker and Mike Cordero, the local nightlife titans behind Don Tito, Bronson Bierhall, and Barley Mac. But with a 350-person capacity, plus three full bars and tables across two levels, it proved difficult to fill on a regular basis, even with a location across from the Clarendon Metro station.

The bar opened to fanfare in the fall of 2017. It closed last year amid pandemic lockdowns and never reopened. By early fall, the TVs that adorned the walls, along with other furnishings, had been removed.

Parker, who’s working to open a new pizza and hangout spot at Pentagon Row called Nighthawk Pizza, said no other closures of existing bars are planned, though the pandemic has dealt the formerly high-flying venues a big blow.

“Everything else is staying open,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can like everyone else.”

G.O.A.T is the 24th restaurant to close in Arlington since the start of the pandemic, according to ARLnow’s count.

JUST IN: Coronavirus Cases Pass 10,000 Mark in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

More than 10,000 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in Arlington since the start of the pandemic.

The county passed that milestone this morning, as 120 new cases were reported, bringing the cumulative total to 10,117.

Arlington’s one-week trailing average of new daily cases also reached a new pandemic peak today: 118 cases per day. One new COVID-related death and 16 new hospitalizations were reported today in the county.

New coronavirus records are also being set statewide.

“Virginia reported new single-day and seven-day records for new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, and hospitalizations for the virus hit another high,” InsideNova reported. “The Virginia Department of Health also reported 69 new deaths related to COVID-19 on Saturday, the second-most ever, behind 96 on Sept. 15, when a backlog of death certificates were recorded. Overall, the state has recorded 264 deaths over the past seven days, making it one of the deadliest weeks ever since the pandemic began.”

The rate of vaccinations in Arlington, meanwhile, has picked up a bit since last week. VDH reported 303 new vaccinations in the county today, bringing the total number of doses distributed locally to 3,294.

Arlington is among the Virginia jurisdictions entering Phase 1b of vaccine distribution this week. That priority group includes “Persons aged 75 and older; Police, Fire, and Hazmat; Corrections and homeless shelter workers; Childcare/K-12 Teachers/Staff; Food and Agriculture (including Veterinarians); Manufacturing; Grocery store workers; Public transit workers; Mail carriers (USPS and private); Officials needed to maintain continuity of government.”

The county is currently pre-registering employers of those in the Phases 1b and 1c groups. Arlington is also partnering with Virginia Hospital Center to set up a new vaccination clinic. More from social media:

DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II

APS Outlines Plan for Staff to Return to Schools, Avoids Specifics for Students

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington Public Schools is holding off on announcing future dates for returning students to school.

Sending back students and staff together is unsafe, Superintendent Francisco Durán told the School Board during a meeting on Thursday. For now, APS will focus on its timeline for returning staff to their buildings, he said.

Students with disabilities have been learning inside school buildings since Nov. 4. Shortly after, APS began providing learning supports — but not instruction — to additional elementary students at four schools, and “work space” programs at five high schools.

But before more students return, Durán said it is important that staff have “a buffer so they can prepare, feel confident, air any concerns with us… and acclimate to teaching from their classrooms.”

Further, he said he does not want to make promises he cannot keep regarding getting kids in the building.

“I don’t want to have to give dates that we have to take back,” he said, adding that both Fairfax County and City of Falls Church public schools have had to do just that, as the latest pandemic wave still rages.

The return-to-school schedule for staff is as follows:

  • Week of Jan. 25: preschool through second-grade teachers, and all countywide teachers and staff for elementary special education programs (dates for third through fifth-grade teachers will be announced “at a later date”)
  • Weeks of Jan. 25 and Feb. 1: Central Office staff
  • Week of Feb. 1: secondary teachers, staff, and all countywide teachers and staff for secondary level special education programs

The first in-person School Board meeting is set to be held on Feb. 4. More information on the staff return plans will be released during the Jan. 21 meeting.

Meantime, APS will launch a COVID-19 app that allows employees and families to complete health screening questions about symptoms and exposures in multiple languages.

Temperature checks will still be completed at school, he said.

“The platform will enhance the process for reporting exposures and positive tests, to assist with the speed and efficiency of our contact tracing process,” Durán said.

He also acknowledged the “many, many times” staff requested more granular data on the number and location of cases in school buildings. Previously, staff told ARLnow that they would learn only through word-of-mouth if an outbreak occurred in their building.

Depending on the number of reported cases, COVID-19 statistics will now be broken down by building or facility, or division, he said.

The superintendent also welcomed the news from Gov. Ralph Northam, announced on Wednesday, that K-12 teachers are included in the state’s second phase of the vaccine rollout.

“With the arrival of a vaccine in Arlington, I hope we will be turning a corner in how we manage and get through this pandemic,” the superintendent said.

Some teachers, however, have expressed concern about returning to school buildings.

“APS is not a jail system, but for the teachers who will be forced to come to work without any guarantee of safety, it is not an inappropriate comparison,” one H-B Woodlawn teacher said in an email to ARLnow. “The only reasons school statistics are not
comparable to prison statistics are because of cancellations and virtual options that have allowed teachers and students in APS to stay safe. Undoubtedly, coming back to school will result in higher infection rates in Arlington.”

“I understand there are many pressures for action from conflicting positions, but I implore them to make the choice that errs on the side of safety and a value for life,” the teacher wrote.

Meanwhile, a distance learning task force — focused on improving instruction and social-emotional learning — had its first meeting on Wednesday, Durán said. The force has 65 members, representing teachers, administrators, students and parents.

After its final meeting on Feb. 17, it will recommend specific steps to be taken “immediately,” Durán said.

Arlington Still Focusing on Vaccinating Healthcare Workers, Nursing Home Residents

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Vaccine distribution in Virginia started three weeks ago, and in Arlington County, the focus remains on healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities.

Officials say widespread distribution is still months away.

“We certainly share the enthusiasm about the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in Virginia, and we appreciate everyone’s patience during this initial rollout,” Ryan Hudson, the acting public information officer for the Arlington County Public Health Division, told ARLnow in an email.

“As quantities are limited, [the vaccine] may not be widely available to the general public until at least mid-2021,” he said.

As of this morning, 2,216 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Arlington County, according to Virginia Department of Health statistics. At the current vaccination rate — around 150 per day — it would take more than three years to vaccinate Arlington’s adult population. The county, meanwhile, saw 121 new coronavirus cases reported today.

Statewide, 116,247 doses of the vaccine have been administered.

Gov. Ralph Northam acknowledged during a press conference on Wednesday that the state could be going faster. To that end, he announced a state goal of administering 25,000 vaccine doses a day in the coming weeks.

Virginia is planning for a weekly allocation of about 50,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines apiece, Hudson said. The actual amount received, however, depends on “when and how quickly vaccination doses are manufactured,” he said.

Arlington County is following the vaccine prioritization list that Northam outlined. The focus through the spring will be on people categorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state authorities into Phases 1A, 1B and 1C.

The state is currently in Phase 1A, immunizing doctors, EMT workers, nurses, and those who live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

A Virginia Hospital Center spokeswoman said its allotment of doses of the vaccine have been allocated to staff or an affiliated frontline health worker.

“The first wave of over 2,000 VHC physicians and employees are receiving their second dose of the vaccine this week,” she said. “The second wave of staff received their first dose in late December and will return for the boost in late January.”

The hospital downplayed reports that some members of the general public are being given the chance to receive excess vaccine doses that would otherwise go to waste.

Doctors affiliated with VHC were told that the hospital received excess dosage that would made available to the general public, and several people successfully scheduled appointments, a reader who wishes to remain anonymous told ARLnow. The reader was able to successfully make an appointment to get the vaccine, which was confirmed with a screenshot.

Maryanne Boster, director of corporate communications at VHC, affirmed Thursday afternoon that the hospital is following VDH guidelines for vaccine distribution.

“The scheduling system referenced is intended for healthcare providers and their staff,” she said in a statement. “Individuals accessed the site and scheduled appointments. We have since corrected the issue. Virginia Hospital Center continues to offer the vaccine to those who meet the criteria defined as the highest priority in Phase 1A and is committed to using all of our allotted vaccines.”

In Arlington, distribution will expand to 1B as supplies and resources increase, Hudson said.

Phase 1B includes those who are 75 years and older, as well as: firefighters, police officers, teachers, hazmat workers, grocery store workers, food processing plant workers, agriculture workers, mail carriers, and those who work in transit and corrections.

Teachers make this bracket because “they’re critical to getting schools open and getting people back to work,” Northam said.

It will take “well into the spring” to immunize Phases 1A and 1B, roughly 2 million people, he said.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Beyer: Trump Must Be Removed — Rep. Don Beyer: “Donald Trump is a danger to our democracy. I continue to support his impeachment and removal from office, and am looking carefully at new articles of impeachment being drafted and offered by my colleagues… Congress must ensure Trump’s removal from office by the swiftest and surest method available: confirmation of the American people’s will as expressed in the 2020 election.” [Press Release]

Bishop: ‘Saddened and Appalled’ — From Bishop Michael Burbidge, of the Arlington Diocese: “Today, I was saddened and appalled to see the violence at the US Capitol that disrupted a constitutional process. I ask all people to pray for unity and healing in our nation. May God bless and protect this great country and grant us the peace for which we long.” [Twitter]

Northam: ‘Virginia Will Be There’ — Gov. Ralph Northam: “I continue to pray for the safety of every member of the House and Senate, all the staff, the journalists, everyone who works in the Capitol. And I commend the Virginia National Guard and Virginia State Police for quickly stepping up in this time of great need. Let me be clear: Virginia will be there for as long as it takes to protect our nation’s capital and ensure the peaceful transfer of power.” [Gov. Ralph Northam]

Lopez Discussed Capitol Chaos on BBC — Del. Alfonso Lopez appeared on BBC’s Newsnight, discussing the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol: “This is an extreme group that have bought into the misinformation from the Trump family,” he said. [Twitter]

State to Speed Up Vaccinations — “Governor Ralph Northam today announced new actions to support the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution program and accelerate the pace of vaccinations across Virginia.” [Gov. Ralph Northam]

Now for Something Completely Different — “About this time yesterday I posted a video of an Arlington fox playing with dog toys — I’m just gonna re-post now for anyone who needs a break from today’s news cycle.” [Twitter]

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