coronavirus

How ARLnow Plans to Continue Covering the Coronavirus Crisis

By ARLnow.com

Last month, ARLnow set a new all-time readership record: 1.45 million pageviews. In the nine days since the first coronavirus case was reported in Arlington, we have blown that away, setting fresh records every night.

For the past 30 days, we’ve served 600,000 readers and just under 2 million pageviews.

It has been an incredibly busy two weeks for ARLnow’s staff. We have been working around the clock to provide vital community coverage, continuing to dig up scoops while curating a large amount of information that has been coming in via email and social media. We have also been working to make sure we can continue to operate amid unprecedented business disruptions.

It seems like ages since our first staff meeting about coronavirus, on Friday, March 6 — before the NBA season was cancelled and the president went on TV.

Here’s part of the staff memo:

There are two schools of thought regarding the outbreak. One is that it’s not too bad and it’s going to be similar to the flu, and it will be business as normal in a few months. The other is that this is a “black swan event” that is a significant public health danger as well as a prolonged disruption to the economy. At this point, from what I’m seeing, I lean more toward the latter.

Obviously, the more alarmist-seeming (at the time) prediction proved to be very much correct.

We sent our editorial staff home the following Tuesday, after Arlington’s first confirmed case, and our business staff home shortly thereafter. We have been working remotely ever since, with the exception of our roving staff photographer, Jay Westcott, who is taking proper precautions to stay healthy.

Given the extraordinarily high readership ARLnow has been getting, we know that we have a big responsibility to keep the community well informed. And we are going to do just that, through thick or thin, to the best of our ability. Expect continued, up-to-the-minute coverage, including both enterprise reporting and curation of the firehose of press releases and info we’re getting, in the coming weeks.

But choppy seas are ahead. Advertising-supported local media in the D.C. area is hurting, as DCist reported today. ARLnow’s amazing advertisers have mostly stuck with us so far, but amid the chaos the usual steady flow of new sales has slowed to a trickle.

We have prided ourselves on making our reporting free for all, and not asking readers to support our ongoing operations. But this time things are different — we need your help to get through this. ARLnow runs a lean operation, and don’t have legacy newsprint costs to worry about, but we still have significant expenses — salaries, benefits, office rent (shout out to our friends at Techspace), and enterprise-grade web hosting, to name a few.

If you have enjoyed reading ARLnow over the past 10 years, and you have the means to give us a few bucks a month, we would very much appreciate you joining our Patreon.

If you would prefer, you can also send contributions via Paypal.

We have two Patreon tiers: $6 and $10 per month. Every little bit will help us get through this for the next couple of months. And when everything is back in business and we’re in the clear, we’ll let you know.

While we appreciate inquiries about giving more, the truth is there are plenty of local organizations and people that need it more urgently than us. Please give the big bucks to nonprofits like AFAC, A-SPAN, Arlington Thrive, the Arlington Community Foundation and others.

We are humbled by the trust Arlington has placed in us, in making ARLnow your go-to local news source. If you can go a step further and support us for the next few months, we would be extremely grateful. Maybe we’ll even throw a party when this whole thing is over.

Thank you.

Arlington Restaurants Offer Free Meals to Families in Need

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 5 p.m.) While Arlington teachers put together grocery gift cards for low-income families and nonprofits band together to address the economic impacts of the coronavirus, several local restaurateurs and the nonprofit Real Food for Kids are working to provide meals to families hit by the pandemic.

Chef David Guas, the owner of Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) in Courthouse, has partnered with Real Food for Kids — a nonprofit that aims to promote healthy diets for children — to provide free, plant-based meals for Arlington children and their families.

Starting Tuesday, Guas committed to serving free lunches from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. during weekdays while Arlington Public Schools are closed, Real Food for Kids said in an email. This week the featured meal is New Orleans-style red beans and rice. Non-profit Fruitful Planet, associated with regional juice chain South Block, is also offering fresh fruit to accompany the meals.

“This is a complement to Arlington Public Schools’ efforts to serve at-risk families who are used to relying on the school lunch program,” a spokesperson for the organization said. “Many of these parents’ jobs are at risk due to the coronavirus, making a bad situation worse.”

Donations to help sustain the program can be made online. Other local organizations like the Arlington Food Assistance Center are also seeking assistance to provide food for those in need.

Separately, Joe’s Place Pizza & Pasta (5555 Lee Highway) is also offering free cheese pizzas and fresh salads to those most affected by the school closings and job cutbacks, starting tonight from 5-7 p.m. According to a press release, staff will deliver the food to the hood of cars to limit personal contact and maintain social distancing.

Medium Rare, meanwhile, has been delivering free meals to vulnerable seniors in the D.C. area since last week. The steak frites restaurant has a location in Virginia Square.

Even while hurting financially themselves, other restaurants throughout the region have been putting together specials and free meals to help families that frequently rely on school lunches have access to food during the pandemic.

Photo courtesy Real Food for Kids

Arlington Nonprofits Collaborate to Combat Coronavirus Impacts

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) As Arlingtonians scramble to stock up on emergency supplies to weather the coronavirus pandemic, some local nonprofits that are helping those most in need are starting to see the strain on the county’s most vulnerable populations.

“We’re still trying to get used to the new reality,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of Arlington Thrive, a nonprofit that provides emergency funding to people in crisis. “We’re trying to figure out how dire the situation is for Arlingtonians, not just [in terms of] health but also economic [situations].”

Schneider said Arlington Thrive and many of the other local nonprofits like A-SPAN and AFAC are collaborating closely to try to assess where needs are highest. The local nonprofits are benefitting, Schneider said, from a few years of community leaders laying the groundwork to provide immediate help across their organizations in the event of an emergency.

“There’s a lot of collaboration going on led primarily by Arlington County and the other community foundations,” Schneider said. “Thrive, like most nonprofits, has been leaning that direction and moving even closer during this crisis. This afternoon I’m on a conference call with 22 other nonprofit executive directors and the director of human services to talk about community-wide response.”

Though things look pretty bleak nationally, Schneider said he’s still staying inspired by local acts of kindness and charity.

“We’ve seen an outpouring of support from the community but also seeing a lot of people who just want to try to make a difference,” Schneider said. “You see these awesome things that teachers are doing and Facebook groups popping up, so we’re trying to help people identify where the need is greatest and channel resources to that… but no matter how good the nonprofit, at some point demand is going to outstrip that.”

Currently, Schneider said the most immediate needs in the short term are for food and, with schools out, child care.

“The dire need right now is for child care assistance and, frankly, because of the anticipated need at AFAC there’s assistance for funding for food,” Schneider said. “Secondly, what we’re trying to do is prepare ourselves for what will be the long term, six-month impact. Even after the quarantine and the immediate crisis ends as people are still out of work or the economy gets back up, they’re going to be turning to Thrive.”

Last week, as the coronavirus crisis was ramping up, the organization announced that it had received $60,000 from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Thrive’s largest private grant ever. In this time of need, however, it will only go so far.

Schneider said Thrive is currently raising money for emergencies like rental assistance, medical assistance, and utility assistance for people who may have just lost their primary income. While Virginia has suspended non-emergency evictions, there’s still the threat that people could be forced out of their homes as soon as that’s lifted.

“People are already in a position where they’re struggling to make those payments,” Schneider said. “I worry about the need being so great in our community that we’re all going to be overwhelmed, which is why you’re seeing that partnership and collaboration.

Donations can be made to Thrive online. Schneider said people who want to help their community could also volunteer at Volunteer Arlington or donate to the Arlington Community Foundation.

File photo

NEW: One Additional Coronavirus Case in Arlington, As Trickle of Cars Arrive at Testing Site

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) The number of coronavirus cases in Arlington has risen by one, to 14 cases.

That’s according to the latest figures from the Virginia Dept. of Health, which reported 77 cases statewide but only 1,278 people tested so far.

Arlington is now tied with Fairfax County, which has five times the population, for the most COVID-19 cases of any individual locality (14 each) in Virginia. Yesterday, Arlington was at 13 and Fairfax at 12.

There was a slow trickle of cars arriving at Arlington’s new drive-through coronavirus testing site this morning, after it opened. ARLnow’s staff photographer counted six cars over the site’s first hour in operation, from 9-10 a.m.

At a press conference at 3:30 today, Virginia Hospital Center Chief Nursing Officer Melody Dickerson said that 60 people had been tested and another 22 drive-through tests are scheduled for Thursday. It will take patients, who are being encouraged to self-quarantine, 5-7 days to get the results.

The site is located at 1429 N. Quincy Street, on county-owned property across from Washington-Liberty High School.

Amazon Donates $1 Million to Arlington, D.C. Area Foundations

By ARLnow.com

Amazon, Arlington’s new neighbor, has donated $1 million in “emergency COVID-19 response funds” to four large D.C. area community foundations.

Among those to benefit are the Arlington Community Foundation.

“The donation will be used to provide resources to organizations working with communities disproportionately impacted by coronavirus and the economic consequences of the outbreak — including hourly workers, people experiencing homelessness, and the elderly,” the company said on its blog.

Amazon “is also providing additional cash and in-kind support to five food service providers in the Washington D.C. region,” including the Arlington Food Assistance Center.

“The Washington, D.C. area is our new home, and we must rally together to support our neighbors during this difficult time,” said Amazon PR and policy chief Jay Carney. “In addition to making sure our Amazon customers can get the essentials they need, we will support our community partners who are doing life-saving work. Amazon’s $1 million donation to these four community groups will provide fast, flexible support to those who need it most and encourage a wave of additional community donations during this unprecedented time.”

“We know that we are stronger together and hope this gift will inspire others to jump in and do what they can to improve outcomes for our neighbors in need,” Jennifer Owens, president and CEO of the Arlington Community Foundation said in a statement.

“We hope this is the first of many donations by Amazon and our other corporate citizens who recognize the need to partner with County government, and Arlington non-profits during this public health crisis,” said Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey.

Aside from Arlington, the funds will also be used in Alexandria; D.C.; Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland; plus Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William counties and the cities of Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Don’t Ride Metro Unless You Must, Says Metro — “Effective… Wednesday, March 18 — and continuing until further notice — Metro service will operate as follows: Rail system hours and service levels are further reduced to support essential travel only. DO NOT TRAVEL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Follow guidance from your state and local authorities. New hours: Weekdays 5AM-11PM, Sat/Sun 8AM-11PM. Trains will run every 15 minutes on each line at all times.” [WMATA, Twitter]

Utility Disconnections, Evictions Suspended — Arlington County has suspended water disconnections, Dominion has suspended power disconnections, and courts in Virginia has suspended evictions, giving those who are unable to pay their bills during the coronavirus outbreak a chance to stay in their homes. [Twitter, Dominion, Press Release, Twitter]

Police Can Now Enforce State Crowd Ban — “I just issued an emergency order with @VDHCommissioner to enforce Virginia’s statewide ban of more than 10 patrons in restaurants, theaters, and fitness centers. Please use common sense. If you were considering ignoring this limit — don’t.” [Twitter, Gov. Ralph Northam]

Compass Coffee Lays Off Most Employees — “”Compass Coffee, a DC based company just laid off 180 of their 200 employees abruptly.” [PoPville]

Vintage Restaurant Group Shutters Locations — The operator of iconic local restaurants Ragtime, Rhodeside Grill and William Jeffrey’s Tavern is closing its locations until further notice. [Twitter]

Four Courts Donates Extra Food to AFAC — “We just dropped off fresh produce @AFACfeeds… their need is still great.” [Twitter]

Marymount Extends Online-Only Classes — “In order to continue ensuring the health and safety of the campus community, Marymount University will extend its online-only class period to Tuesday, April 14 (previously March 30), as the greater Washington region sees increased cases of COVID-19.” [Press Release]

Macy’s Closes Stores Nationwide — “Macy’s is closing all of its stores nationwide, effective at the end of business Tuesday through March 31, to try to help curb the spread of COVID-19.” [CNBC]

JUST IN: Arlington Opening Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing Site

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Arlington County and Virginia Hospital Center are partnering to set up a drive-through coronavirus testing site.

The temporary site is set to open Wednesday at a county-owned property across from Washington-Liberty High School. The county says to expect additional traffic on N. Quincy Street north of Washington Blvd as a result.

Arlington residents, county and school system employees and Virginia Hospital Center patients, who are experiencing symptoms consistent with coronavirus and have a written order from a healthcare provider, will be eligible for testing. Samples collected will then be sent to a lab; it should take 5-7 days for test results to be available.

Jurisdictions and healthcare providers across the U.S. are rushing to open drive-through testing sites, to cut down on coronavirus exposures at hospitals and doctor’s offices.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Arlington County had 13 reported coronavirus cases, the highest count of any individual locality in Virginia.

More from an Arlington County press release:

Virginia Hospital Center (VHC), a community-based hospital providing medical services to the Washington, DC metropolitan area for 75 years, has partnered with the Arlington County Public Health Department, the Arlington County Police Department, the Arlington County Fire Department, the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Environmental Services to open a temporary drive-through COVID-19 sample collection site at 1429 N. Quincy Street.

“Arlington County is appreciative of our partnership with Virginia Hospital Center to facilitate sample collection for our community at this drive-through center,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said. “This is an important collaborative effort at a critical time.”

  • Samples will be collected from Arlington residents, Arlington County Government employees and Arlington Public Schools employees, and patients of VHC Medical Staff.
  • This site is for sample collection from symptomatic patients (fevers, chills, cough, or shortness of breath) who have received a written order for COVID-19 testing from a licensed healthcare provider. This is not meant for asymptomatic patients, even those who have had a close contact with a known COVID patient.
  • Physicians with symptomatic patients can send orders to the Virginia Hospital Center outpatient lab electronically in EPIC or via fax to 703.558.2448.
  • Once they have received a physician’s order, patients should call the VHC COVID-19 Scheduling Line at 703.558.5766 between the hours of 8:30 am and 3:00 pm. Patients must schedule an appointment before visiting the collection site.
  • Individuals arriving at the drive-through site will be asked to remain in their cars.
  • The sample collection center will officially open Wednesday, March 18 at 9:00 am and will remain open on weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
  • Individuals who visit the collection site are encouraged to follow the instructions of their health care provider and self-quarantine while they await their results. Test results will be available to the patient within five to seven business days.

“The opening of this temporary facility allows us to meet the urgent needs of our community while our Emergency Department continues to serve those who require immediate medical attention,” said James B. Cole, President & CEO of Virginia Hospital Center. “We are grateful to our staff as well as our colleagues at public health, police and fire for their exhaustive efforts to make this sample collection site possible.”

To protect patient privacy, media access to the site will be restricted. Photos for use by media outlets are available here and media will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. Information about scheduled media briefings and a media staging area will be provided in a second advisory.

Traffic Advisory

  • Expect additional traffic on N. Quincy between Washington Boulevard and N. 15th Street
  • Expect delays if traveling in the area and/or seek alternate routes if not visiting the collection site
  • Posted signboards in the area will direct those driving to the collection site

All Community Centers to Close After Tonight

By ARLnow.com

The last remaining open Arlington community centers will close indefinitely after 8 p.m. tonight.

The Fairlington, Walter Reed, Arlington Mill, Thomas Jefferson and Langston-Brown community centers had remained open this week, with modified hours, while others were closed. All will now be shuttered until further notice.

Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation (DPR) made the announcement this afternoon, but noted that dog parks, fields, trails and athletic courts will remain open.

Earlier today Arlington Public Library also announced that the two libraries still open would close after tonight, as the coronavirus outbreak gets worse.

More via DPR

Arlington County is committed to the health and safety of our employees and our community. While we are making changes to some programs and services, we will continue to operate essential government services for our residents and businesses.

In an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), all Parks & Recreation programs, centers, services and activities are closed or canceled. Parks, fields, dog parks, courts and trails remain OPEN. Fields, dog parks, outdoor courts and fields and the Powhatan Springs Skate Park are not being lit for evening. All outdoor Parks & Recreation facilities will follow the same hours, open sunrise to sunset.

We ask all patrons to practice social distancing and wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer to protect themselves and others. And remember these general safety guidelines:

  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Stay a social distance of six feet whenever possible.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if soap and water are not available.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth as much as possible.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve (not hands) when coughing or sneezing.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
  • Get a flu shot if you haven’t already. You don’t want to be vulnerable to getting sick with both flu and COVID-19.
  • Avoid contact with sick people as much as possible.
  • Follow the CDC travel policy.

We recognize the burden these closures may cause. The health and safety of the Arlington community is our highest priority and we are grateful for your cooperation.

Arlington Teachers Make National Headlines for Helping Low Income Students

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) While Arlington Public Schools works to get meals to students who aren’t in school, a group of teachers have gone the extra mile and are working to get grocery gift cards to families on the free and reduced lunch list.

A GoFundMe campaign for Arlington students in need is approaching $170,000 raised, with an $830,000 goal. The hope is to provide a $100 grocery gift card into the hands of every APS student that qualifies for free or reduced lunch.

“Arlington Public Schools has approximately 8,300 kids who receive free or reduced lunches,” the fundraiser’s founders wrote on GoFundMe. “These food-insecure families may face challenges feeding their families. This problem may be compounded if employers start cutting hours or closing their doors and wage workers end up without work.”

The fundraising push has made headlines nationally, on Good Morning America, CNN and People Magazine, as the teachers try to spread the word about Arlington families in need during the coronavirus outbreak.

The fundraiser is not associated with APS — which is currently distributing grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches — but the teachers said they’re working with others in their schools and with the PTAs.

“They know the kids in need in their schools and are getting the cards to those families,” teacher Aaron Schuetz said, who started the fundraiser with fellow Yorktown High School science teachers Laurie Vena and Deborah Waldron. “Sometimes [delivery is] by mail, or pickup, etc.”

(more…)

NEW: Remaining Library Locations to Close

By ARLnow.com

The remaining open Arlington Public Library locations will close at the end of the day amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

Arlington Central Library and the Columbia Pike branch library remained open yesterday and today, after the other library branches closed. The two libraries continued to offer wi-fi and computer use, as well as self-service access to non-children’s materials.

The library system announced the closures, effective as of 9 p.m., this afternoon.

“In an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), Arlington Public Library is closing all locations,” said the library website. “We made this decision to support the overall health and wellness of our community and for the safety of our patrons and staff.”

All fines and due dates for physical materials are suspended until further notice, and book drops are closed.

“Please keep library items at home until we can resume library operations,” Arlington Public Library said.

BREAKING: Arlington County Now Reporting Most Coronavirus Infections in Virginia

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) As Arlington officials take measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the county has again gone up.

As of noon today, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported 13 coronavirus cases in Arlington. That’s the highest count of any individual jurisdiction in the state — up from 9 cases in Arlington yesterday.

By contrast, there are currently 12 reported cases in Fairfax County, with about 5 times the population of Arlington, and still only 2 positive coronavirus tests in Alexandria.

Statewide, 1,028 people have been tested and 67 people have tested positive across the Commonwealth, up from only 489 people tested and 51 cases yesterday.

Given the relative lack of testing so far, and the continued spread of a highly-infectious disease that doesn’t present symptoms for a few days, it’s a near-certainty that cases will continue rising, perhaps dramatically. And it’s not clear to what extent more proactive testing or reporting may be playing a role in Arlington’s higher numbers relative to other jurisdictions.

To slow the spread, officials from the national to the local level have been urging people to frequently wash hands, avoid touching one’s face, and to practice social distancing — maintaining six feet of separation from others when out in public. Last night Arlington County’s top officials released a statement urging restaurants to close their dining rooms, even though Virginia has not followed the lead of other states in mandating such closures yet.

Many restaurants across Arlington have announced temporary closures or takeout– and delivery-only options over the past 24 hours. A few others, however, remain open to dine-in customers.

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