coronavirus

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

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]

DEVELOPING: Arlington 911 Call Center Evacuated

By ARLnow.com

(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.

File photo courtesy Arlington County

Officials Say Arlington May Reopen in Mini-Phases

By Vernon Miles

(Updated 5/18) Large portions of the state partially reopened today, but not Northern Virginia.

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.

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Closer to Opening? The Week In Photos and Reflections

By Jay Westcott
1/20

Another week has passed, and Arlington is still at least partially locked down.

But it feels like the dam has sprung a leak. The roads seem busier, more and more people are getting outside as the weather gets warmer, there are still plenty of people out shopping for food and other essentials, and there’s a sense that everyone is ready to resume something closer to normal life.

Our staff photographer Jay Westcott has been observing life in Arlington during the pandemic. Here’s his latest weekly dispatch.

I keep thinking back to late February and early March for many reasons, some deeply personal, but also because for Arlington, it was our last opportunity for “normal” life pre-coronavirus.

I think about all the interactions I had on any given day, driving around Arlington County and documenting what’s going on in this great community. How many parking meters did I touch? How many cashiers handed me receipts and change and credit cards and groceries? How many elevator buttons did I push? How many door knobs and handrails did I grab? Crosswalk signals pushed?

How we interact with each other and with things will be altered going forward. I hate the terms “reopen” and “go back” because those words imply that the threat is gone. Folks, the threat is still present. Testing still lags significantly here in Arlington.

This is where we adapt our behavior, so we can overcome. Yes, businesses need to figure out a way to operate, but the priority has to be practices that negate the spread of the disease. Since we don’t seem to have any clear guidelines coming from the federal level, it’s taken time to make a plan.

Scientists still don’t fully understand this disease. It may be causing illnesses in children that are similar to Kawasaki disease. We have to adapt our behavior until the rate of infection has decreased significantly. We have to have enough testing in place and we have to be able to contact trace and isolate those infected.

I also keep thinking about about this quote from this Atlantic article: “Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R0 of less than one.” What’s so challenging about that?

BREAKING: Arlington Test Positivity Rate Still Well Above 10% Goal

By ARLnow.com

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.”

ACPD Expands Online Report System to Include Property Damage Crashes

By ARLnow.com

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.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

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]

Reported Coronavirus Cases Near 1,500 in Arlington, Amid Testing Questions

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) The total reported coronavirus cases in Arlington are now one shy of 1,500, while statewide data shows a mixed picture one day ahead of a partial reopening of the Commonwealth.

The latest Virginia Dept. of Health data shows 1,499 cases, 305 hospitalizations and 70 deaths in the county. That’s a one-day increase of 39 cases, 5 hospitalizations and 1 death.

Statewide, VDH reports 27,813 cases, 3,592 hospitalizations and 955 deaths. The state health department also has released some new data showing testing and hospital-related statistics.

On the testing front, Virginia has come in for criticism over the past week for a relatively low testing rate, a relatively high test positivity rate, and for mixing diagnostic and serological tests in its reporting. Today, the health department broke out its testing data to show just diagnostic testing, which account for 169,340 test results compared to about 15,000 serological test results in the aggregate testing number.

The current stats from VDH show an increasing rate of testing and decreasing rate of test positivity.

For Virginia’s hospitals, the statistics show the number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients holding relatively steady over the past month, with just over 1,533 hospitalized as of today.

On the plus side, it has been two weeks since a Virginia hospital has reported difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment for its staff.

The number of reported outbreaks in Arlington is holding steady at 12, but outbreaks in long-term care facilities remain a concern.

In addition to a sizable reported outbreak at Regency Care of Arlington in Pentagon City, Brookdale Senior Living in Virginia Square has one of the county’s larger outbreaks. As of Friday, Brookdale told families that it has 31 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9 coronavirus-related resident fatalities.

Another senior facility, Sunrise at Bluemont Park, told families on Monday that it has no COVID-19 cases among residents, but two among staff.

Sunrise said in the email that it’s working to prevent the spread of disease by delivering meals and activities to resident’s rooms, testing residents and staff twice a day for fevers and COVID-19 symptoms, providing personal protective equipment for residents and staff, and prohibiting all visitors “except for those professionals necessary to provide critical resident care.”

Survival, Not Success, on the Menu for Courthouse Restaurant Sweet Leaf’s Reopening

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 10:15 p.m.) Like other local business owners, Andre Matini feels like he’s building his franchise back from the ground up.

Andre Matini and his sister Arita are the cofounders of Sweet Leaf Cafe, a bowl and sandwich-focused local restaurant with a handful of regional locations. The store’s Courthouse location (2200 Wilson Blvd) is set to reopen Thursday for takeout and delivery, with orders ideally placed online or — if necessary — with walk-ins.

Matini said the location is reopening with ambitious 9 a.m.-8 p.m. hours, 7 days a week, but that could change as it adjusts to operating during the pandemic.

“It’s like starting the whole business from scratch,” Matini said. “So many things go into getting production.”

The big problem, Matini said, is trying to rehire staff. Matini said he has had zero responses to a help-wanted ad he put out recently.

“Right now, my ex-employees won’t come back, which is causing a problem,” Matini said. “Some of them are making more by staying home because of $600 [weekly enhanced unemployment] bonus. That bonus runs out in mid-July, and then they all want to come back.”

For Sweet Leaf, though, Matini said that leaves businesses opening before July with very little to offer former employees to come back to work, potentially risking their health to earn less than they would staying at home. While some larger companies have offered extra pay for employees to work through the pandemic, Matini said many smaller businesses don’t have the profit margins to afford that kind of package.

“Who wants to risk possibly getting sick to break even and work for the money when you could get it for unemployment,” Matini said. “One of our biggest problems is getting anyone to come back. We’re staffing managers on salary, but that’s not a long term possibility here, to pay people $50 to $60 grand for hourly work.”

As frustrating as that is, Matini said he’s still happy about receiving a federally-based Paycheck Protection Program loan, saying even with an imperfect implementation it’s allowed the company some breathing room. He’s not sure there will be many customers when he reopens, but now that he has the PPP loan he has to most of the money on rent, utilities and employee pay within 8 weeks in order to have that portion of the loan forgiven, according to Small Business Administration guidelines.

Matini said he’s preparing for the careful balancing act of keeping employees and other customers safe while not embarrassing those who don’t follow social distancing standards.

“We have all these new procedures in place to keep customers and employees safe, but with the nature of the virus, it’s difficult,” Matini said. “It’s a balancing act. We’ll be asking people without masks to order online without embarrassing them. There are no issues right now, but you can see as businesses open up in a month and you have 20 people in a store, it might be difficult to single someone out.”

Matini said he’d prefer government step in to establish what the rules are — Arlington County officials are considering doing so by making masks mandatory while out in public — so individual businesses don’t have to set their own rules.

“We’re excited to open, but it’s not a grand opening type of excitement, it’s just ‘let’s get something rolling again we can keep in place for a couple of months or a year,'” Matini said. “We’re doing walk-ins, but you just can’t sit down. Please use delivery or takeout, it’s easier, you’ll get a discount. It’s about a 10% discount. If you spend $25, you get $2 off.”

As the Courthouse location gets restarted, Matini said the focus isn’t on thriving, but surviving.

“We’re not growing businesses, just seeing what we can do,” Matini said.

While Courthouse is reopening, one of the two Sweet Leaf locations in Ballston will remain closed — the one in an office building on N. Glebe Road. “There’s nothing going on there,” Matini said. The N. Quincy Street location is currently open with limited hours.

Sweet Leaf isn’t alone in reopening. McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant in Crystal City (456 23rd Street S.) is also planning to reopen tomorrow, offering dinner along with beer, wine and cocktails from 3-9 p.m. Other restaurants, like Mexicali Blues, have been reopening over the last few weeks and offering take-out and delivery options.

Photo courtesy Sweet Leaf

County Opens New Walk-Up Coronavirus Testing Site

By ARLnow.com
1/7

A new walk-up coronavirus testing site opened Tuesday along Columbia Pike.

The testing center is a partnership of Arlington County, Virginia Hospital Center and Arlington Free Clinic. At a media briefing yesterday, officials from all three spoke about the importance of the facility in the fight against the virus.

With the new testing site “we can get services to the more vulnerable and low income individuals,” who might not have access to a vehicle for drive-through testing sites or to health insurance to pay for testing, said Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington Public Health Director.

“They often have limited access to health care and because of their work, they don’t have the opportunity sometimes to stay home like a number of the people in our region,” Varghese said.

The new testing site is open from 1-5 p.m. weekdays, and available to anyone who makes an appointment by calling (703) 558-5766. Health insurance is not needed and those who require extra treatment after testing may be referred to the Arlington Free Clinic.

Arlington County has seen the highest proportion of COVID-19 cases in the 22204 zip code, along the Columbia Pike corridor, emphasizing the need for more testing in the area.

The latest countywide statistics from the Virginia Dept. of Health report 1,460 coronavirus cases, 300 hospitalizations and 69 deaths in Arlington. That’s an increase of 44 cases, 12 hospitalizations and 3 deaths overnight.

Statewide, VDH reports 26,746 cases, 3,520 hospitalizations, 927 deaths and just over 180,000 tests administered.

More on the walk-up testing center, via a county press release:

Arlington County, in partnership with Virginia Hospital Center and the Arlington Free Clinic, will open its first walk-up COVID-19 sample collection site at the Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 South Dinwiddie Street.

“Arlington is committed to assuring everyone in our community has access to the testing they need during this pandemic,” said Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington Public Health Director. “This is an important partnership that will help our more vulnerable or low-income groups who do not have access to cars to walk up and get tested.”

“This is an exciting effort to create a more equitable testing model for everyone who needs it,” said Nancy White, Executive Director, Arlington Free Clinic. “This model aligns with our mission to provide high-quality health care to low-income, uninsured Arlington residents through the generosity of donors and volunteers.”

“Virginia Hospital Center is happy to lend the expertise we have gathered from the North Quincy drive-through site to support the efforts at Arlington Mill,” said James Meenan, Director of the VHC Outpatient Lab. “Our primary focus is always the health and safety of our community and increasing access to testing is a critical step forward in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.”

  • The clinic opens Tuesday, May 12 and will operate weekdays between 1-5 p.m.
  • To be tested, patients must obtain a clinician referral and then schedule an appointment by calling 703-558-5766. Patients must schedule an appointment before visiting the collection site.
  • Residents without health insurance can still access testing through the walk-up collection site by calling the appointment number. A VHC clinician will screen for symptoms over the phone and provide a follow-up referral to the Arlington Free Clinic if needed.
  • Individuals who visit the collection site should follow the instructions of their health care provider and self-isolate while they await their results.
  • Patients with an appointment may access the clinic at Arlington Mill Community Center by entering through the outdoor plaza facing Columbia Pike.
  • Individuals must bring proof of identity (U.S. government ID not required).

To protect patient privacy, media access to the site will be restricted.

Morning Poll: Should Online Meetings Continue After the Pandemic?

By ARLnow.com

At its meeting this weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to formally approve an ordinance granting the county emergency powers to hold public meetings online instead of in person.

That codified what has been the county’s improvised practice during the pandemic, including during the recent county budget process. County Board meetings are being held online, as are public information sessions about things like plans for the revamped Metropolitan Park in Pentagon City and proposed changes to a crash-prone section of Route 50.

At a time when in-person meetings are not possible due to health concerns, online meetings have been deemed a good enough alternative to simply shutting down public processes or delaying local government decision-making on important issues.

The downside of these meetings is that there are still those — the elderly, the impoverished — without readily-available internet access. In the U.S., some 23% of the population still did not have a smartphone as of 2018.

But the upside is that for the majority of the population that does have internet access, it’s a lot easier to attend a virtual meeting at home, or watch it later online, than it is to show up at a physical location and spend an hour or more of a weekday evening or weekend morning at an in-person gathering. That’s doubly true for parents of young children and those with non-standard work schedules.

Indeed, a criticism leveled against the “Arlington Way” — the uniquely Arlington system of citizen engagement in county decision-making that has been in place for decades — is that such meetings are difficult for all but the most motivated residents to attend, and decision-making processes can drag on for months or even years.

An online poll conducted by ARLnow in late 2018 found that nearly 55% of respondents would prefer a streamlined community input process. More virtual meetings and online input, even beyond the pandemic, could be a step in that direction.

The ordinance being considered by the Board keeps the current state of affairs “in effect for six months from the end of the COVID-19 disaster, unless sooner repealed by the County Board.”

Should the county consider making virtual meetings a more regular feature of citizen participation beyond that? Not totally replacing in-person meetings and input, but maybe becoming the predominant way to engage residents. And perhaps the current slate of virtual meetings can be expanded beyond Board meetings, town halls and project information sessions to incorporate the “cancelled until further notice” commission meetings.

What do you think?

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