mask

Arts Focus: Arlington Arts Sews Masks in Partnership with Department of Human Services

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/7

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

(Updated 04/13/2020) Utilizing existing resources and equipment from another program, for the last week Arlington Arts has been sewing masks to be distributed through Arlington County Department of Human Services and the Arlington County Police.

The basic, non-medical grade cloth masks resulting from this effort are being supplied to high-risk populations ranging from homeless shelters and the County jail.

The initiative was conceived and coordinated by the Director of Arts Enterprise, Joan M. Lynch. A professional costumer who formerly ran the Arlington CostumeLab, Joan has many stage and film credits to her name. Working at a safe distance from one another, she and sewing partners Andrea Blackmon and Sharon McDaniel of Arlington Weaves, and Tessa Luque of the Washington Opera started turning out about 50 masks per day. In the week since first posted to social media, the program now has over 100 volunteers.

More volunteers are welcome, and they will be supplied with instructions, fabric, elastic and thread for pick-up, and arrange to drop them off for weekly distribution.

Interested volunteers or those with elastic or fabric to donate toward the effort may email: [email protected].

Arlington Arts is grateful for the outpouring of support from the Community. While there is currently an abundance of volunteers, we still welcome donations of elastic or all-cotton fabric.

Spring Blooms at Bill’s True Value Hardware Amid Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

Before you ask: no, Bill’s True Value Hardware (2213 N. Buchanan Street) does not have any face masks.

Every day, Mark Ploskina — son of owner William Ploskina — says he gets around 100 to 200 calls with people asking whether or not he has masks. He gets one of those calls in the middle of an interview about the number of calls.

Mark said as the pandemic was getting started, the store was buzzing with activity as people rushed to get supplies.

“Before the mandatory shutdown, it was insanely busy in here,” Mark said. “People were looking for everything. Emergency related stuff — toilet paper, paper towels, masks. Since the shutdown it’s been about normal.”

While many food, retail and service locations across Arlington are struggling, Mark said the store — considered an essential business under Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s emergency orders — has had a steady stream of customers. Occasionally on weekends it gets too busy and Mark said they have to limit the number of people in the store, but so far they’ve been able to manage.

At first, the main items were coronavirus-related, but as spring has started to bloom Mark said that’s beginning to change.

“Everybody wants to congregate in the same area: plants, seeds and gardening,” Mark said. “[People go for] everything garden related. People are so bored.”

Mark said he’s happy people are coming in, but feels slightly guilty when he sees customers going out and buying non-essentials during the stay-at-home order.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “I want to serve the community, but there’s a lot of people coming in and these are not emergency supplies.”

As the pandemic set in, Mark said the store got a box full of masks — about $150 worth — but they sent the box straight to the hospital for use by healthcare workers.

“It was the right thing to do,” Mark said. “I want customers to be safe, but the hospitals need it.”

Photo via Bill’s True Value Hardware/Facebook

Coronavirus Cases in Arlington Now Above 250

By ARLnow.com

There are more than 250 known coronavirus cases in Arlington.

The county has 254 reported cases, according to Wednesday’s data from the Virginia Dept. of Health. That gives Arlington the second-highest per-capita rate of infections in the state (107.24 per 100,000 people), and the highest per-capita rate in Northern Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

It has been a month since the first confirmed coronavirus case in Arlington.

Statewide, there are now 3,645 reported COVID-19 cases, 615 hospitalizations, 75 deaths, and 30,645 people tested. Of the fatalities, 23 have been in Northern Virginia.

Local, state and federal officials are continuing to urge people to wear masks to slow the spread of the disease. The virus spreads primarily through respiratory droplets, which masks help to mitigate. Even those without symptoms may have and be spreading the disease, making it more important for everyone to wear masks while out.

In just the past couple of weeks there has been a notable uptick in mask wearing among customers in local grocery stores, ARLnow has observed.

JUST IN: Another Big Jump in Arlington Coronavirus Cases as County Encourages Masks

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has confirmed another 34 COVID-19 cases since Monday, the county’s second-largest increase in cases since the outbreak began.

There are now 237 known coronavirus cases in Arlington, up from 104 cases a week ago.

Statewide, the Virginia Dept. of Health is reporting 3,333 cases, 563 hospitalizations, 63 deaths and 28,645 people tested as of Tuesday.

As the numbers continue to increase, Arlington County is urging residents to follow the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance regarding wearing masks while in public.

Especially while in places like grocery stores and pharmacies, the county says, residents should wear a cloth facemask. Such masks can be made at home, as Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey demonstrated in a new video.

The county says masks — which are commonly worn in Asian countries, especially during flu season — are a way to prevent the spread of disease.

“The cloth face covering is to protect people around you if you are infected but do not have symptoms,” the county said. “To be clear, this is not meant as a replacement to staying at home, handwashing or maintaining six feet of distance — those remain the cornerstones in the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”

There remains a stigma around wearing masks in public in the U.S., however. Just this morning, someone called Arlington County Police to report a “suspicious” man wearing a mask and supposedly pushing an empty baby stroller while looking into car windows. Arriving officers found that the man was a resident of the caller’s building and that there was a baby in the stroller

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is also pushing residents to wear masks, assuring those with concerns that a law that makes wearing masks in public in public a felony will not be enforced due to his declaration of a statewide emergency.

The full county press release is below.

Arlington County is encouraging all Arlingtonians to wear cloth face coverings when in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

This directive is in accordance with a new recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which encourages the cloth face coverings in public (e.g. grocery stores and pharmacies).

To be clear, this is not meant as a replacement to staying at home, handwashing or maintaining six feet of distance – those remain the cornerstones in the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Why Do You Need to Wear Cloth Face Coverings?

There is now evidence that people with coronavirus can transmit it to others before showing symptoms (“asymptomatic” or “pre-symptomatic”). The use of a cloth face covering can help to slow the spread, particularly among those who have the virus and do not know it.

To be clear: the cloth face covering is to protect people around you if you are infected but do not have symptoms.

What Type of Cloth Face Covering Should be Worn?

The suggested cloth face coverings, fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials, are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators – those are critical supplies needed by healthcare workers and other medical first responders.

The CDC offers three types of cloth face coverings for use:

  • Sewn Cloth Face Covering
  • Quick Cut T-shirt Face Covering (no sew method)
  • Bandana Face Covering (no sew method)

All cloth face coverings should:

  • fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
  • be secured with ties or ear loops
  • include multiple layers of fabric
  • allow for breathing without restriction
  • be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

All cloth face coverings should be cleaned routinely in a washing machine. Individuals should avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth when wearing or removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.

For more information about the COVID-19 coronavirus and how you can help protect yourself and those around you, visit arlingtonva.us/Coronavirus.

For questions about COVID-19, call the Arlington County COVID-19 Information Line at 703-228-7999.

Marymount Nursing School Donates Masks, Gowns to Virginia Hospital Center

By ARLnow.com

Virginia Hospital Center has received a sizable donation of surgical masks and gowns amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Arlington-based Marymount University donated 550 surgical masks, 110 isolation gowns, 60 full-body suits and seven reusable goggles from its Department of Nursing, the school tells ARLnow.

“When I became aware of the dire circumstances that the nurses at VHC were in, I responded without hesitation,” Dr. Catherine Hillberry, technology coordinator for the nursing school, said in a press release. “[We] are committed to serving others and supporting the community in difficult times – and stepping up to help those who put their lives on the line daily to help save lives is a privilege.”

The donation was greeted with appreciation from workers at the hospital.

“The generous donation of PPE is having a direct and positive impact in my unit. Having it available means we have the tools and resources necessary to do our jobs,” said Karin Kutscher, an ICU nurse at Virginia Hospital Center and a Marymount grad.

“When we leave the hospital, there is a risk of increased exposure if we do not have proper supplies when caring for our patients,” said Alicia Marconi, a Marymount instructor and another ICU nurse at the hospital. “If we, the health care workers, get sick, then there are fewer of us to take care of patients in need.”

Virginia Hospital Center is currently accepting donations of goggles, hand sanitizer, face shields, medical isolation gowns, bleach and bleach wipes, but only in unopened boxes, according to a “community support” web page set up by the hospital.

“Please email [email protected] to connect with our team,” VHC said, adding that it is “not accepting donations of homemade masks for safety reasons.”

The hospital is also accepting donations of individually packaged food via restaurants and catering companies. For others who want to help during this trying time, VHC notes that “blood donations across the country have dropped significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic response” and “individuals are not at risk of contracting COVID-19 from donating blood.”

Stores Picked Clean of Hand Sanitizer, Face Masks Throughout Arlington

By ARLnow.com
1/9

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) If you want to stock up on hand sanitizer and face masks, you’re going to have a tough time finding any in Arlington.

Numerous stores we checked around the county were completely out of both, amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak. Despite there being no confirmed local cases, shoppers in Arlington seem as eager to hoard supplies as others across the U.S.

The CVS store at Ballston Quarter mall was a typical scene. The shelves this afternoon were mostly bare where face masks, hand sanitizer and Lysol once stood.

Elsewhere around Arlington:

  • The Harris Teeter stores in Shirlington and Pentagon City were completely out of hand sanitizer
  • Ayers Hardware in Westover had only a limited supply of face masks and was imposing a per customer sales limit
  • Preston’s Pharmacy on Lee Highway was out of hand sanitizer, but a clerk said customers were buying aloe and rubbing alcohol to make their own “homebrew” hand sanitizer
  • Cherrydale Hardware on Lee Highway was out of masks
  • Target in Rosslyn was out of hand sanitizer

If you feel you must get your hands on some hand sanitizer — or some face masks despite officials cautioning that they’re ineffective — there might be a solution. A pop-up “coronavirus supply store” opened on Florida Avenue NE in D.C. over the weekend, offering both of the above plus bleach and “preparedness kits.”

Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools officials, meanwhile, say they’re monitoring the outbreak and are continuing to make emergency preparations.

Jay Westcott contributed to this report

ACPD Expected to Receive 141 Gas Masks

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington police carThe Arlington County Police Department will likely have 141 new gas masks at its disposal soon, courtesy of the federal government.

The gas masks come from a $81,958 “urban area security” grant, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DHS’ grant program came into focus in the wake of the protests in Ferguson, Mo., during which local police used military-grade equipment to try to disperse crowds of people.

The grant for the masks is part of $51.8 million that was allocated by DHS for the D.C. metro region in 2012. The gas masks were purchased from a subset of grant money allocated to the Alexandria Police Department, according to Arlington County staff, “to increase response capabilities of tactical teams” in the region. The County Board is scheduled to vote on the grant at its regular meeting this Saturday.

Alexandria has already purchased the masks and “related equipment,” the report says, and ACPD is simply waiting for Board approval before it can receive the masks. The masks are required for the ACPD to be considered a Type 1 tactical response team for responding to disasters, “including terrorism.”

The ACPD says there’s no known cost for maintaining the masks, which have a lifespan of 20 years. After 20 years, the county may have to pay for new masks from its own budget if it hopes for ACPD to maintain Type 1 status, according to the staff report.