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By MAX SMITH, WTOP
Sites have now been identified to establish field hospitals in Northern Virginia to accommodate an expected surge in hospitalizations due to COVID-19. Though the first phases of the plans call for adding beds in existing hospitals or on hospital campuses, the third phase would establish new treatment facilities at the National Conference Center in Loudoun County, the Dulles Expo Center in Fairfax County, and at George Mason University in the City of Fairfax, according to a briefing Tuesday for the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.
By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Sentara has ended its drive-thru coronavirus screening and testing until further notice. “The decision is based primarily on delays in receiving and communicating test results to our patients due to the high volumes of testing across the country,” according to a news release Tuesday from Sentara.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
By the time Maria Blaha reached the emergency room at Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville on Sunday night, she had been living for three weeks with the symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Her fever was consistently high, draining her energy. She coughed constantly and sometimes out of control. Her breathing was labored.
The Virginia Public Access Project
Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows an updated timeline of the number of confirmed COVID-19 and a statewide map showing the number of cases by locality.
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
Bon Secours Mercy Health —which operates 11 hospitals in the Richmond and Hampton Roads regions — has furloughed 700 full-time employees across seven states and 12 markets, the health care system announced Tuesday. The health care system said in a released statement that the furloughs come as a result of fewer people seeking primary care, outpatient and surgical services, as most health care services being performed are related to COVID-19.
By MEL LEONOR, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Virginia Republicans on Tuesday challenged the length of the “stay-at-home” order Gov. Ralph Northam issued, arguing that it will hamper some of the party’s June primaries. Northam’s order, which went into effect Monday, seeks to further restrict public activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic by ordering people to stay home except for essentials. The order will remain in effect through June 10, one day past the state’s June 9 primaries.
By BEN HITCHCOCK, Cville Weekly
“I’m going to kill a fifth during this lecture,” announced one student, holding a bottle of whiskey aloft as his classmates tuned in for a Zoom meeting of a UVA data science class. “I can hear you,” the professor said back. As coronavirus has swept the nation, universities across the country have had to go digital, ditching in-person class meetings in favor of video conferencing. The transition has come with plenty of thrills and spills: Clips have circulated of college students confidently striding naked through the frame, getting their hair braided, or taking bong rips while the professor rambles on.
The Full Report
49 articles, 21 publications
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By GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER, REBECCA TAN, RACHEL CHASON AND ERIN COX, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The rise in Washington-area coronavirus cases continued to accelerate Tuesday as leaders scrambled to prepare for an even greater surge, cobbling together bed space and supplies while calling for more help and coordination from the federal government. A day after leaders in the District, Maryland and Virginia ordered residents to stay home to limit the spread of the virus, the greater capital region added 477 known coronavirus cases, bringing the regional tally to 3,411.
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press
A Virginia gun-rights group is protesting Gov. Ralph Northam’s order to shut down the state’s indoor shooting ranges as part of a series of business closings aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
A gun-rights group is threatening to sue Gov. Ralph Northam for forcing indoor shooting ranges to close to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. While gun shops can remain open as long as they keep patrons to 10 or less and practice social distancing, Northam has labeled indoor shooting ranges as “indoor public amusement” alongside movie theaters and bowling alleys.
By ALEX KOMA, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)
The coronavirus outbreak has ground the development review process to a virtual halt across Northern Virginia — and that has developers spooked, sparking new calls for state officials to step in and lend a hand to the industry. The key concern is that the clock is still ticking on everything from use permits to special exceptions, even though most local governments have either canceled or substantially delayed the public meetings that keep big projects moving.
By NED OLIVER, Virginia Mercury
Gov. Ralph Northam is facing dueling pressure campaigns to amend marquee legislation passed by the General Assembly last month raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour over three years. On one side, farmworkers are pushing for Northam to strike language allowing agricultural operations to continue to pay them $7.25 an hour, an exemption they say is rooted in Jim Crow-era racial animus. On the other side, business groups, Republican leaders and the Virginia Municipal League, which represents all 38 cities in the state, are asking Northam to delay the legislation altogether, arguing the sudden economic downturn caused by COVID-19 would bust budgets and make it harder for businesses to recover.
WAVY
Many people who have rushed to local grocery and convenience stores in search of cabinet necessities like bread and water have been met with price gouging. However, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is taking steps to help crack down on the practice. Herring announced Tuesday, March 31, he would be sending out warning letters to businesses in the state who have received a complaint.
By MATTHEW BARAKAT AND SARAH RANKIN, Associated Press
The Virginia Department of Corrections announced late Tuesday that three offenders had tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first confirmed cases among inmates in a state correctional facility. The inmates are incarcerated at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland, the department said in a statement. Three employees and one contractor have also tested positive, the department said.
By SARAH VOGELSONG, Virginia Mercury
Virginia will not relax its enforcement of environmental regulations despite an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week that it won’t impose civil penalties on polluting facilities that don’t comply with routine monitoring and reporting obligations during the coronavirus pandemic. “All regulated entities are expected to make every effort to comply with environmental compliance obligations, adhere to permit limits and maintain the safe and environmentally protective operation of their facilities,” said Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Director David Paylor in a news release Tuesday.
By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Shipbuilders working on the Kennedy have put lines of white tape six feet apart for when they line up at the tool counter at the start of their shifts to pick up their gear. There are red paint marks in the toolroom for that daily lineup too. Those are among the many signs across Newport News Shipbuilding that the new coronavirus requires new ways of working -- including the 6,000 employees now regularly working from home, the staggered timing for lunch breaks...
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Old Dominion University economists said Tuesday that 10,945 people in Hampton Roads filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending March 21, nearly one out of four claims made statewide. The commonwealth, and the United States, saw record numbers of initial unemployment claims filed that week: 46,885 in Virginia and more than 3 million nationwide.
By ALEX KOMA, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)
The coronavirus outbreak has ground the development review process to a virtual halt across Northern Virginia — and that has developers spooked, sparking new calls for state officials to step in and lend a hand to the industry. The key concern is that the clock is still ticking on everything from use permits to special exceptions, even though most local governments have either canceled or substantially delayed the public meetings that keep big projects moving. With Gov. Ralph Northam's newly ordered bans on large gatherings through at least June 10 — and a stay-at-home order for all but essential business — there are increasing fears that builders will run out of time to complete their most lucrative efforts.
By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee
Due to continued declines in market demand as a result of the coronavirus, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has suspended operations at all American plants, including the Danville manufacturing plant, “until further notice,” says company spokeswoman Barbara Hatala. This comes after the company announced that it would suspend all operations in the Americas through at least Friday.
By GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Employees of the Richmond Times-Dispatch as well as at dozens of newspapers owned by its parent company, Lee Enterprises Inc., will be required to take two weeks of unpaid leave between now and the end of June. Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises told employees Tuesday morning that the steps were necessary because of a slump in advertising revenue that has hit print media especially hard from the coronavirus.
By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Appalachian Power Co. proposed a rate increase Tuesday that would raise monthly bills for its customers by an average of 5%. If approved by the State Corporation Commission, the increase would take effect in early 2021. While acknowledging that the request comes at a bad time for a region struggling with financial angst caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Appalachian said a 2018 state law set a deadline for the filing that expired Tuesday.
By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now
Although Metro is currently cutting routes and closing stations due to COVID-19, planning continues for the extension of the Silver Line into Loudoun County. Initially, officials estimated phase two of the project would open by the summer. After delaying the projected opening several times and by several months, Metro officials now say the first trains will not begin running until April 2021, according to budget documents.
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
As college students in Virginia finish the semester with classes online, universities are giving them extra flexibility for how they’ll get credit. Colleges across the state are rolling out new pass/fail grading options for the spring semester, a move aimed at helping to make sure students are able to complete classes as the coronavirus pandemic forces higher education to encounter the unknown.
By ROBBIE HARRIS, WVTF
In the wake of the coronavirus, our education systems are in the process of re-inventing themselves for distance learning, but for some international graduate students that distance presents problems.
By JESSICA NOLTE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Students graduating from Christopher Newport University expected to register Wednesday for commencement festivities. But they instead received an email from the university saying it would have to further delay the celebration because of the coronavirus. “It saddens me deeply that the current reality of our world forces us to once again postpone commencement,” CNU President Paul Trible said in a Tuesday email.
By RICHARD CHUMNEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Liberty University is postponing its graduation ceremonies to September in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the school announced Tuesday. The widely expected move comes one day after Gov. Ralph Northam issued a sweeping stay-at-home order
By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury
The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, a powerful industry group representing some of the state’s biggest health care systems, is asking the federal government to open up military and veterans’ hospitals across the commonwealth in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
By LISA VERNON SPARKS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The Hampton VA Medical Center posted on its Facebook page a call for available retired medical personnel to help with the coronavirus public health emergency. The federal office that oversees civilian employees last week approved a request from the Department of Veterans Affairs to waive a section of the federal law that applies to compensation for retired VA workers, according to the post.
By ALEXA DOIRON, Southside Daily
As testing for the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to grow, Sentara Healthcare has closed its drive-thru screening location to prepare for the opening of its own testing facility. Sentara announced Tuesday it is planning to launch in-house testing for Hampton Roads at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in the next week. Until then, testing results are still dependent on private laboratories, such as LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics.
By DANIELLA CHESLOW, WAMU
Across the region, hospitals, clinics and state health departments are opening more sites to get people tested for coronavirus without bringing sick patients into hospital emergency rooms. But a shortage of testing kits and protective gear, along with a long turnaround time continues to keep local doctors largely in the dark as they try to stave off coronavirus in the region.
By RACHEL MAHONEY, News & Advance (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Centra Health reported Tuesday 18 people in Central Virginia have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and four of those people are at Lynchburg General Hospital. Officials relayed the latest information to local news media Tuesday morning, hours after the Virginia Department of Health updated its latest numbers to show 11 confirmed cases in Lynchburg and the surrounding counties.
By COLLEEN CURRAN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Two weeks ago, Lucy Fox thought her father was going to die. Carter Fox, 80, was on a ventilator and couldn’t talk. The coronavirus sent his oxygen levels plummeting. Medical staff at VCU Medical Center ordered the family out of the hospital to avoid spreading the disease...
By ELISHA SAUERS, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Latex-free gloves, respirator masks, gowns and disposable shoe covers are on practically every hospital’s wish list in Hampton Roads. Casseroles, chip dip and cupcakes? Not so much.
By JUSTIN JOUVENAL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Fairfax County’s top prosecutor said Tuesday he will seek the early release of about three dozen inmates in the wake of a detainee testing positive for the novel coronavirus at the county’s jail. Separately, two members of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office staff at the jail have also been tested for the illness, four inmates who came in contact with the sick individual have been isolated, and 44 other detainees are being monitored for fevers and other symptoms of covid-19, a Fairfax County health official said.
By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The last time the South Hampton Roads United Way set up a hotline offering help in response to a national crisis — the 2019 government shutdown that lasted eight weeks― it answered hundreds of calls for help. The hotline was set up this time in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In the first two weeks, the calls surpassed that number and increase each day.
By STAFF REPORT, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Richmond’s first coronavirus-related deaths were reported Tuesday evening. Hours later, Chesterfield County announced its first death from COVID-19. Virginia Department of Health numbers released at 9 a.m. Tuesday showed 27 deaths and 1,250 confirmed infections — an increase of 230 cases from Monday morning.
By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)
In an emergency Buckingham County Board of Supervisors meeting held 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, County Emergency Management Coordinator Cody Davis informed the board that officials had been notified Buckingham would likely see rapid community spread of the COVID-19 virus within 72 hours. Davis explained to the supervisors that the county had been notified of its first confirmed novel coronavirus case by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) at 8:30 a.m. Monday, March 30. News of a second case in the county came at 4 p.m. Monday evening.
By LUANNE RIFE, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Ballad Health on Tuesday reported that its first patient, a Tennessee man in his 70s, had died from the new coronavirus. “It was a pretty fast demise and everything we have been told to expect,” CEO Alan Levine said during a news briefing. Ballad is the predominant health care provider to people living in Tennessee’s northeastern Tri-Cities region and Virginia’s coalfields. Until this week, about half of Ballad’s patients who tested positive for the virus were in their 20s and 30s, but that is changing.
By MEGAN PAULY, WCVE
The YMCA has opened its Downtown Richmond, Shady Grove, Tuckahoe, Midlothian and Chester locations to provide essential workers with childcare at a reduced cost. The services are provided to kids in kindergarten through middle school on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Each of the five sites has capacity for about 100 kids, with the potential to expand if demand exceeds that.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Forced out of work in mid-March by the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel Domingo began to worry about April 1. The 51-year-old chef at a popular Scott’s Addition restaurant saw his hours and income reduced drastically, then vanish altogether as a result of public health guidance that prompted widespread business closures. About 7,600 people filed for unemployment in Richmond and Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties last week alone...
By CLAIRE MITZEL, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Roanoke City Public Schools will resume delivery of student meals next week, Deputy Superintendent Dan Lyons told the school board Tuesday. Bus delivery was halted this week after it became unclear whether the district had enough people to deliver, Lyons said.
By ALISSA SKELTON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
To stop the spread of the coronavirus, police in the Outer Banks set up check points earlier this month to prevent visitors and nonresident property owners from entering the popular vacation destination. But just up the shoreline in Virginia, vacationers are still enjoying Sandbridge and its wide beaches and large guest houses.
By HANNAH EASON, VCU Capital News Service
Richmond school bus driver Tyrone McBride is still driving a big, yellow bus through Richmond neighborhoods, but these days, he’s transporting boxes of food for kids in need. “It gets me out of the house,” said McBride, who has been a school bus driver for 18 years, “and you know, you’re doing a great deed and helping people out.” More than a week has passed since Gov. Ralph Northam announced students will not return to school this academic year, and volunteers are still working to feed the 590,000 children in Virginia eligible for free or reduced lunches who were ordered to remain home during the coronavirus pandemic.
By KATHERINE HAFNER, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Starting Wednesday morning, only “mission-critical personnel” will be allowed to regularly access Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis. The restrictions begin at 6 a.m. Col. Clinton Ross, commander of the joint base, announced the measure Tuesday amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic
By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
All access points to the Appalachian Trail in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests have been temporarily closed in an attempt to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Officials with the U.S. Forest Service said the decision aligns with directives from state and federal health officials.
By MAX SMITH, WTOP
We don’t know what’s next. It’s the guiding principle behind major changes to the Fairfax County, Virginia, budget proposal that are set to be released next week. The original budget proposed a 3-cent property tax increase, which may or may not significantly change depending on the projected impact on future years’ budgets. The original proposal also included a new 4% tax on tickets to things such as movies, theaters and concerts. “The world has changed since that budget presentation, and so will our budget,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said.
By FATIMAH WASEEM, Reston Now
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to take a major hit on the economy, Fairfax County leaders are bracing for the impact of the outbreak on the upcoming county budget. At a budget meeting today (Tuesday), county leaders said they plan to revisit the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget, which was developed before the coronavirus pandemic impacted the area. A revised proposal is expected to go before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors by April 7.
By JIM MCCONNELL, Chesterfield Observer
The Chesterfield County government announced Monday evening that it is furloughing about 450 full- and part-time employees beginning April 4 due to the COVID-19 outbreak’s impact on local operations and the economy. Affected employees were notified last week that they’ll be placed on leave without pay until the pandemic lifts and economic conditions improve.
By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)
Buckingham County officials have distributed a release detailing how citizens can provide comments for scheduled public hearings for Buckingham County Board of Supervisors meetings during the coronavirus pandemic. The release highlights several ways that residents can submit comments to the board, although the methods require certain restrictions.
Roanoke Times Editorial (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
So, it doesn’t look like Virginia will be getting a 12th congressional seat. Not that we were really counting on gaining a new one, but the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau — the last before the formal numbers from this year’s actual census — don’t show Virginia gaining enough population relative to other states to warrant an additional seat.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Begin with the fact that there haven’t been enough tests for the coronavirus — not nearly enough tests — and follow that through to the catastrophic situation in which this country finds itself. We know there is a deadly infectious disease sickening and killing people across the commonwealth, but we don’t know where it is. Not really.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
In a pandemic, who better to step up and volunteer than members of the health care profession? And in Virginia, they have — by the thousands. Hundreds of applications are rolling in daily to the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps.
By BOB STRAIGHT, published in Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
Recently, the Virginia state government undertook actions to soften the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the commonwealth’s citizens. The Virginia Supreme Court declared a judicial state of emergency and suspended all new, non-essential, non-emergency proceedings from March 16 to April 6. This suspension includes the eviction of tenants unable to pay rent as a result of COVID-19.
Bob Straight is the leader of the Fredericksburg Chapter of Virginia Organizing.
By KIRK BOWERS, DIANA CHRISTOPULOS AND TINA SMUSZ, published in Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
We all have grave concerns about COVID-19. Restaurants, public facilities and churches have closed. Everyone is asked to stay home and gather in groups smaller than ten. But out-of-state natural gas corporations either don’t pay attention to current news, or maybe they just don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Mountain Valley Pipeline’s owners are preparing to unleash thousands of pipeline workers in six Virginia counties ...
Bowers is pipelines campaign adviser for the Sierra Club Virginia chapter. Christopulos is the retired owner of an international management consulting business. Smusz is retired from 27 years of medical practice in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Care.
By RICHARD J. MEAGHER, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
One truth I often tell students: When it comes to politics, Republicans are just plain better than Democrats. It is not hard to find examples. The Democratic Party, as an ongoing concern, sometimes seems more interested in appearing reasonable than achieving policy gains. Bold campaign rhetoric is gives way to wonky limitations and appeals to moderation. Democrats often compromise before they even propose laws, as if the best negotiating tactic is to start from the middle.
Richard J. Meagher is an associate professor of political science at Randolph-Macon College
By RON CARLEE AND ROBERT MCNAB, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States and measures to contain the virus become more onerous, the impact on local governments is lost in the national and state conversation. Extensive social distancing is having dramatic impacts on individuals, businesses, nonprofits and local governments. We examined the anticipated revenue impacts on local governments in Virginia and specifically Hampton Roads. Local governments in Hampton Roads are losing at least $16 million a month in local taxes. Across Virginia, local governments are down about $60 million a month, if not more.
Ron Carlee is an assistant professor of public service at Old Dominion University. Robert McNab is a professor of economics at Old Dominion University.
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