disease

BREAKING: Second Coronavirus Case Reported in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington announced a second “presumptive” case of coronavirus in the county Thursday afternoon.

An individual associated with Christ Church in Georgetown, where a pastor was diagnosed with the disease, developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 while self-quarantined at home and tested positive for the disease, the county said.

“The individual is currently doing well and is isolated at home,” the county said in a press release. “Arlington County Public Health is working with the individual’s close contacts and advising them as appropriate.”

The county went on to note that “while there may be unmitigated or uncontained community transmission elsewhere in the U.S., based on the limited information available, there is no evidence yet of significant community transmission in the National Capital Region or Arlington.”

The first case of coronavirus in Arlington was reported on March 9. As of 2:45 p.m. Thursday, the Virginia Dept. of Health was reporting 17 “presumptive positive” coronavirus cases.

Also on Thursday afternoon, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency as a result of the outbreak.

More on COVID-19 symptoms and prevention advice, from the county press release:

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can cause mild to more severe respiratory illness. In a small proportion of patients, COVID-19 can cause death, particularly among those who are older or who have chronic medical conditions. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms appear within 14 days of being exposed to an infectious person. COVID-19 spreads primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

To lower the risk of respiratory germ spread, including COVID-19, the Virginia Department of Health encourages the following effective behaviors:

  • 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.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Avoid contact with sick people.
  • Avoid non-essential travel.

County, Schools Cancelling or Postponing ‘Non-Essential’ Events

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:50 p.m.) Arlington County government and Arlington Public Schools are cancelling or postponing non-essential gatherings and events.

The county released a statement Thursday morning saying that it is “taking steps to help mitigate and contain the spread of COVID-19,” including re-examining public gatherings during the outbreak.

“While events and public gatherings are hallmarks of our community, they also are opportunities for a virus to spread quickly among event workers and participants,” Arlington County said in a statement. “Moving forward, many events or meetings will be cancelled, postponed, or modified to better protect our residents and County staff.”

Privately-organized events in Arlington, including races, conferences and street festivals, are also being cancelled in droves.

“This is a time for us to be proactive – and take the necessary precautions needed to slow and minimize Coronavirus from spreading across our community,” said County Board Chair Libby Garvey. “We are examining our activities to determine which are essential and which are non-essential. If they are non-essential, they will be cancelled or postponed. If they are essential, they will be modified to minimize physical contact among those attending. This is an important step for the health and well-being of our community.”

Arlington has created a set of guidelines for determining whether a given event is essential, including:

  • Does the gathering meet a statutory requirement? Is the work of the group required for business continuity?
  • Would not having the event cause undue hardship?
  • Is the meeting non-essential or does it pose a risk to likely attendees? Can the gathering be rescheduled, in whole or in part?
  • Can the experience be offered in a virtual format? Does the event’s target population include people in the high-risk categories? Are there accommodations that can effectively reduce risk?

In response to the new county guidelines, Arlington Public Schools says it is immediately cancelling “all non-essential APS sponsored events,” along with overnight field trips. Athletic competitions and fine arts performances with limited audiences will go on for now, APS says.

Per new Arlington County guidance for events and public gatherings, Arlington Public Schools is canceling all non-essential APS-sponsored events effective immediately, until further notice. Essential school events will continue in adjusted formats and participation. Additionally, APS is canceling all overnight field trips until further notice.

This decision is part of a coordinated Countywide response to help mitigate and contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in our community by reducing the number of occasions when people come together. Canceling non-essential events allows us to limit public gatherings, while also maintaining essential instructional activities, which aligns with the current decision to keep schools open. This situation is changing by the minute, and APS will communicate any decision to close or modify operations in any way to the community through our regular channels as soon as a decision is made.

Essential instructional activities may include day trips to the Outdoor Lab, Extended Day, limited-audience athletic competitions and fine arts performances, as well as events required for certifications or standards of learning.

Among schools cancelling or changes events today are Jamestown Elementary and Kenmore Middle School.

Also today, Arlington said its Public Health staff as been “contacting, assessing and monitoring any returning travelers from areas affected by the COVID-19 outbreak since early February 2020 and are continuing to do so.”

“They are also providing guidance to the hospital and healthcare communities, government, community partners to respond to this outbreak,” the county said.

File photo

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More Signs of Coronavirus Preps — Emptier shelves at local grocery stores, less traffic on the roads: there are signs that locals are taking the coronavirus threat seriously. During the first hour of yesterday’s evening rush hour, traffic on I-395 was relatively light. Last night, there was barely any canned soup left on the shelves at the Lee-Harrison Harris Teeter. [Twitter, Twitter]

Some Churches Close, Others Announce Changes — Episcopal churches in the D.C. area have suspended worship services, while the Catholic Diocese of Arlington announced a series of measures intended to help prevent the spread of disease. [Washington Post, Press Release]

Events Are Being Cancelled in Arlington — “Out of an abundance of caution, the Rosslyn BID has decided to cancel our Arts & Beats series this March and April. We are hoping to run these events later this year and we will be evaluating future events on a case-by-case basis.” [Twitter]

Arlington Conferences Cancelled — “Code for America was scheduled to host its annual summit at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, from March 11 through 13. A Code for America spokesperson told Technical.ly that this would have been the first time the nonprofit was hosting the annual summit in the D.C. area, as it normally takes place in San Francisco. Code for America release a statement on Friday announcing the summit’s cancellation.” [Technically DC]

Local Real Estate Still Hot, Though — “Listing service Bright MLS said closed sales throughout the Washington metro area were up 13% from a year ago to a 10-year high… In Arlington County, Virginia, the median overall price of what sold was $635,000, up 12.4%. But the median price of a stand-alone house that sold in Arlington last month was $1.14 million, up 19.2% from last February.” [WTOP]

Arlington Works on Tree Preservation — “It’s not just housing affordability and increased traffic Arlington County officials are concerned about in the wake of Amazon.com Inc.’s arrival. They’re also watching out for the trees. County officials are proposing to add one urban forester position to the Department of Parks and Recreation. The new hire is needed to expand tree preservation efforts and work through the surge of site plans developers are pitching in the area of Amazon’s HQ2.” [Washington Business Journal]

Four Courts Four Miler Cancelled

By ARLnow.com

The popular annual Four Courts Four Miler race, scheduled for this weekend, has been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns.

The St. Patrick’s Day-themed race usually takes runners from Courthouse, through Rosslyn, down Route 110 and back. Instead, organizers announced today that it has been called off and those who signed up will have their registrations deferred until 2021.

Previously planned road closures will now be lifted.

The race website posted the following message:

In alignment with government officials, as well as our desire to create a safe environment for our runners, volunteers, staff, city services, and community, we are cancelling the 2020 St. Pats Run Fest and moving participants to the 2021 event. This includes all events (Saturday’s Four Courts Four Miler and Sunday’s 10K + 5K).

All runners will be automatically deferred into the 2021 St Pats Run Fest (3/13-3/14, 2021).  If you deferred prior to this announcement and paid a deferral fee your deferral fee will be refunded. Shirts and medals for challenge participants will be available for pick up at Pacers Clarendon or Pacers 14th Street through the end of March.

We appreciate the support of the running community and especially the hard work of our municipality and medical partners. This was a very difficult decision for our team but one we felt was necessary for the well-being of our community.

JUST IN: Marymount to Extend Spring Break, Conduct Online-Only Classes

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5 p.m.) Arlington-based Marymount University, which has campuses in Ballston and at 2807 N. Glebe Road, is extending its spring break and temporarily nixing in-person classes due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The university announced today (Wednesday) that its spring break, currently underway, will be extended by two days. Then, on March 18, classes will resume online only.

“All lecture and lab courses will be delivered online-only from March 18 through March 29,” the university said on its website. “At this time, on-campus classes are expected to resume on March 30.”

“Marymount is closely monitoring the course of COVID-19,” the university added. “We are also participating in weekly discussions with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area in order to jointly monitor coronavirus developments on campuses throughout the region.”

As of Wednesday afternoon more than 100 universities in the U.S. announced moving to online-only classes, including American, George Washington, Georgetown and the University of Virginia locally.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Coronavirus Case in Falls Church — “On Mar. 9, a U.S. Navy civilian employee at the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) in Falls Church, Virginia, tested ‘presumptive positive’ for the coronavirus (COVID-19)… The individual is currently at a hospital in Northern Virginia.” [U.S. Navy]

Northam Signs Arlington Tourism Tax Bill — “The governor’s signature on March 2 made it official – Arlington will now be able to impose a surtax on hotel stays, with the proceeds going to tourism promotion, in perpetuity. Gov. Northam signed legislation patroned by state Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax-Arlington) removing the ‘sunset clause’ from existing legislation allowing Arlington to tack on an additional 0.25 percent to the 5-percent transient-occupancy tax imposed by the county government on those staying in hotels and motels.” [InsideNova]

Lawmakers Support Long Bridge Project — Virginia’s delegation to Congress “sent a letter to Secretary Chao in support of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s (DRPT) application for an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant for the Long Bridge Project.” [Press Release]

No Arlington Rep on Metro Board — “For the first time in recent memory, Arlington will have no representation on the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates the Metro system… The shifts came about due to the resignation from the WMATA board of Arlington County Board member Christian Dorsey, due to issues over reporting of campaign contributions during his 2019 re-election bid.” [InsideNova]

Beyer Gains a GOP Challenger — “On Friday, Mark Ellmore officially filed to seek the Republican nomination for Congress from Virginia’s Eighth District in 2020…. It is currently represented in Congress by Democratic Rep. Don Beyer.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Rep. Beyer to Self-Quarantine After Coronavirus Exposure

By ARLnow.com

As coronavirus continues its rapid spread, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is among those self-quarantining after coming into contact with someone who had the disease.

Beyer announced Tuesday night that he recently dined with a friend in D.C. who later tested positive for COVID-19. The congressman, who represents Arlington, Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County, made the announcement shortly before a telephone town hall meeting he organized about coronavirus.

Beyer said in a statement that his office will be closed and he will not attend votes until Monday, when he hopes to return to the Capitol.

This afternoon my wife Megan and I were contacted by the Virginia Department of Health to share details with us about the illness of a friend who tested positive for COVID-19 after dining with us. They informed us that the timeline of his infection began shortly after our contact on February 28.

At the request of the public health officials, I will self-quarantine to ensure that I do not pass on any potential illness to others. In the 10 days since that dinner neither of us has shown symptoms, and we understand that the probability that we have an infection is low.

Representing Northern Virginians is an honor and privilege which I love, and I especially hate to be away from the Capitol at this time of national crisis. But I feel strongly that one of the most important contributions people in positions of leadership can make at such times is to share the best advice from experts, and where necessary, to model it in our behavior.

My office will close for public business and I will not attend votes or hearings until Monday, when medical advisers say I should be clear to return.

In an interview with ARLnow on Monday, Beyer discussed why he has been sharply critical of President Trump and his response to the outbreak.

“My criticism of the president has been based around poor leadership, poor coordination of response, and deferring on the testing capacity,” he said. “Very clearly, a number of his statements over the past several days have flatly been not true… I know the president believes he’s good at a lot of things, but he’s making scientific pronouncements with no basis of fact.”

“It was disappointing to see the president playing golf this weekend,” Beyer continued. “I have never been critical of his golf playing, presidents need to rest too. But this seems like a national crisis like a 9/11, where you want everyone playing attention… [and Trump] criticized Obama all the time for playing golf.”

The congressman said “only time will tell us how big of a deal” the coronavirus outbreak is, adding that it’s “a rapidly unfolding scientific story” and he’s “praying for mild cases throughout our society.” He said he expects Congress to vote for “some sensible stimulus” — maybe an infrastructure package — to “pull us out of any economic funk that we experience” as a result of the outbreak.

“I think it’s inevitable that we’re going to have to look at some sort of stimulus to stimulate the economy after this kind of a hit,” he said.

“People shouldn’t panic,” about coronavirus, Beyer said. “They should prepare.”

JUST IN: Another Coronavirus Exposure at a Crystal City Office

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:15 p.m.) A second office in Crystal City is being sanitized after another coronavirus exposure.

“In the last hour, we were notified of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) relating to a guest of a tenant occupying space at 2345 Crystal Drive,” said a memo sent by property owner JBG Smith earlier today and obtained by ARLnow. “The tenant is located on the 11th floor of 2345 Crystal Drive. It is our understanding that the guest of the tenant attended a meeting within the tenant’s space for approximately one hour on Thursday, March 5th, and the guest later tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, March 9th.”

“The tenant has notified their staff and has advised any staff that was in contact with the infected individual to self-quarantine,” the memo continued. “The tenant has also engaged an environmental contractor to begin disinfecting their space.”

Amazon has one of its temporary HQ2 offices at the building, but ARLnow hears that the affected office is not Amazon’s.

On Monday ARLnow first reported that another person who had tested positive for coronavirus had visited a pair of offices on the northern end of Crystal City.

Morning Poll: What Coronavirus Precautions Are You Taking?

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:55 a.m.) Coronavirus has arrived in Arlington, with a local resident and a worker in Crystal City testing positive for the disease. And the fourth and fifth case in Virginia were subsequently confirmed in Fairfax and Spotsylvania County.

While this is obviously big news, given the impacts the disease is having on both the economy and the health of those who contract it, let’s for a minute allow for some optimism: the stock market is back up this morning, perhaps the authorities will be able to contain the outbreak before it gets much worse, and just maybe COVID-19 will not prove to be as deadly as originally feared.

That all said — coronavirus is one of the worst new outbreaks of its kind, in terms of global spread, since the 1918 flu pandemic. And it should be taken seriously, particularly among older residents who are more at risk for serious health implications.

For those who haven’t taken a good look at it yet, review this fact sheet from Arlington County.

Among other preventative measures and preparations, which of the following are you yourself taking?

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

This Week’s Crystal City Garage Races Postponed — “Attention garage racers and friends: Tomorrow’s Crystal City races are postponed. We are operating with an abundance of caution after an employee of a tenant in the 201 12th St. S. complex was quarantined because of COVID-19. The complex common areas were cleaned and disinfected, today, but we are holding off before racing again.” [Facebook]

Deep Clean for Rosslyn-Based News Outlet — “Politico has asked several reporters who covered CPAC to self-quarantine over coronavirus concerns. It’s also sanitizing/disinfecting its office.” [Washingtonian, Twitter]

Winter is Over, Unofficially — “Winter was barely perceptible in Washington this year, and now, we can put a fork in it. We see no more potential for enduring cold or substantial snowfall. Spring is here.” [Capital Weather Gang]

Whitlow’s Rooftop Opens — “Rooftop opens for the season tonight at 5 p.m.! How’s that for a Monday?” [Twitter]

Neighborhood College Applications Open — “Learn how to become a neighborhood advocate and effect change through Arlington County’s free Neighborhood College program, which will meet on eight consecutive Thursday evenings beginning April 23.” [Arlington County]

Developers Pitch in to Help Housing Nonprofit — “Absent a budget from a central housing authority, APAH ‘can’t afford not to’ maintain solid relationships with developers — who donate, serve on its board and train future APAH staffers. ‘We’re blessed by their generosity,’ Janopaul says, citing Arlington builders Tim Naughton of AvalonBay Communities Inc., John Shooshan of the Shooshan Co. and Andy VanHorn at JBG Smith.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Photo courtesy Josh Folb

JUST IN: Coronavirus Patient Worked in Crystal City Office

By ARLnow.com

A person who tested positive for coronavirus worked in Crystal City, ARLnow has learned.

Property owner JBG Smith emailed tenants Monday afternoon to say that an employee of one of its tenants was confirmed to have the virus, also known as COVID-19. The employee worked at office buildings located at 201 12th Street S. and 1225 S. Clark Street, according to the email.

“It is our understanding that the tenant has notified their staff and has advised any staff that was in contact with the infected individual to self-quarantine,” the memo said. “The tenant has also engaged an environmental contractor to begin disinfecting their space. As a result of this single tenant space disinfection, some building occupants may detect a slight odor.”

“Our cleaning vendor, BMS, will work to disinfect all common areas on the floors that the tenant occupies, and the building and complex common areas,” the memo continues. “We have maximized the outdoor fresh air in the building. At this time all buildings in the complex will remain open and operating.”

ARLnow hears that the tenant is the Dept. of Defense and the employee is the Marine at Ft. Belvoir previously reported to have tested positive for the virus.

A spokesman for Arlington’s Dept. of Human Services declined to confirm the report, citing Virginia Dept. of Health policy.

Photo via Google Maps

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