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Community Notice from
Dranesville Supervisor John Foust
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Dear Neighbor,
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to impact our community, I will continue to share resources and updates that I hope you will find helpful. Below I have included information about Governor Northam's plan to ease public health restrictions, a reminder about the budget public hearings which begin tomorrow, and information about a new County resource which presents localized coronavirus data.
 Governor Northam's Blueprint for Easing Public Health Restrictions
On Friday, Governor Northam presented the "Forward Virginia" blueprint, which will help guide the Commonwealth on when to safely begin easing public health restrictions. The blueprint includes a phased approach that is grounded in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and has specific goals to contain the spread of the virus through increased testing, personal protective equipment and supplies, and medical capacity.
Virginia is looking at a wide range of public health data. The Governor emphasized that key indicators will include a 14-day downward trend in confirmed cases as a percentage of overall tests and in reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations. While hospitalization rates have largely stabilized in the Commonwealth, confirmed cases continue to rise.
The Forward Virginia blueprint includes the following priorities:
Testing and Tracing
To ensure the continued safety of Virginians, the Commonwealth aims to test at least 10,000 individuals per day. Karen Remley, former Commissioner of Health and current co-chair of Virginia's Testing Work Group, outlined a four stage approach to meet this goal prior to safe reopening. The expanded testing plan includes hiring contact tracers, who will support local health departments in identifying individuals who may be exposed to COVID-19 and helping them self-isolate.
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to ramping up testing, ensuring the safety of healthcare staff, and expanding the medical workforce. Virginia's PPE pipeline is improving, and hospitals are successfully managing their supplies. The Governor cautioned that safely easing restrictions will require an ongoing stable PPE supply chain across all sectors of healthcare, and ensuring that the supply is regularly replenished.
Virginia has ordered 17.4 million N95 masks, 8.3 million surgical masks, 17.1 million gloves, 1.7 million gowns, and 1 million face shields. This includes a contract signed jointly with Maryland and the District of Columbia for 5 million N95 masks.
Governor Northam also announced that a second shipment from Northfield Medical Manufacturing was scheduled to arrive and would be promptly distributed. The latest shipment includes 3 million nitrile exam gloves, 100,000 N95 masks, 500,000 3-ply procedure masks, and 40,000 isolation gowns.
Hospital Capacity and Staff
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions are largely stable across Virginia, even as case counts continue to rise. To ensure continued capacity as Virginia move towards "Phase One" of easing restrictions, Governor Northam extended the ban on elective surgeries through May 1 and expanded the ability of physicians' assistants and nurse practitioners with two or more years of clinical experience to practice without a collaborative agreement.
The Virginia Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) continues to recruit and deploy medical and non-medical volunteers to bolster the work of local health departments, hospitals, and healthcare providers. The MRC currently has over 16,500 trained volunteers, more than halfway to Virginia's goal of 30,000.
Phase One of Easing Restrictions
Governor Northam outlined key benchmarks Virginians can expect in the first phase, which will begin no sooner than two weeks from Friday, April 24, to allow for a 14-day downward trend in confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Phase one includes continued social distancing, teleworking, limits on travel and public gatherings, and recommended use of face coverings. Any easing of restrictions will be informed by public health experts, members of the Governor's COVID-19 Business Task Force, state and local officials, and other stakeholders.
The Commonwealth is developing two sets of guidance: one with broad based recommendations for all businesses, and another with industry specific recommendations for public-facing businesses like restaurants and non-essential retail. The guidance will be provided to businesses in early May.
The slides the Governor's presentation are available here.
Budget Public Hearings Reminder and How to Participate
The Board of Supervisors and County staff are seeking input on the revised FY 2021 budget proposal. In the interest of preserving the health and safety of residents and staff, there will be no in-person testimony during the budget public hearings, Tuesday through Thursday, April 28 to 30. However, those interested in providing input can still do so via phone, video, or in writing. If you missed my virtual town hall on the budget proposal, view it on demand here or read my summary of the revised proposal here.
For both phone and video testimony, you are given three minutes to speak as an individual; if you are the spokesperson for a civic, citizens, or homeowners association group, you are given five minutes.
Phone
Once you have signed up to provide testimony, you can indicate that you wish to do so by phone when the Department of Clerk Services contacts you to confirm you are testifying. If you are providing testimony by phone you will receive a call, originating from 703-324-1000, just before it is your turn to speak. You can also sign up by calling the Department of Clerk Services at 703-324-3151, TTY 711.
Video
Members of the public can submit recorded video testimony via YouTube for any public hearing. Comments must be limited to issues relevant to the budget. Videos must be submitted no later than 9:00 a.m. the day prior to the public hearing. For more details or to submit your video online, visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/boardofsupervisors/budget-public-hearing-video-testimony. Your testimony will appear in the order you appear on the speakers list.
Written Testimony
Submit written testimony, including attachments, related to the FY 2021 Budget, FY 2020 Third Quarter Review, FY 2021-FY 2025 Capital Improvement Program, or FY 2021 Effective Tax Rate by emailing
ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov, or by using the new
online form. Testimony can also be mailed to the Department of Clerk Services, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 552, Fairfax, VA 22035.
How to Watch
All meetings are televised on Channel 16 (Cox Channel 1016; Verizon/Comcast Channel 16), streamed live online, and available to view on demand following the meeting.
New Fairfax County Health Department Data Site
The Fairfax County Health Department has launched a new data site with more information on COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District. The district is composed of Fairfax County, the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, and the towns of Herndon and Vienna.
In the interest of keeping the public informed during this health emergency while still upholding the County's legal responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals, the Health Department is continually evaluating ways to share data responsibly. The website currently includes the following information:
- Total Cases, Hospitalizations, and Fatalities.
- Cases by Locality. This presents case counts for Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, and City of Falls Church.
- Case Rates by Combined Zip Code. To protect the confidential health information of residents, the case rates are being presented in combined ZIP Codes grouped by the first three digits (e.g., 22030 and 22032 are both in the grouping 220).
- Case Rates by Age Group. Rates are per 100,000 residents and indicate the age distribution of cases and deaths while taking into account the size differences of the age groups.
- Case Rates by Racial and Ethnic Groups. A side-by-side percent comparison of major racial and ethnic groups is presented.
- Trajectory of Cases. This graph helps visualize the growth in the overall number of cases and whether that growth is slowing.
- Epidemic Curve. This curve shows the number of new cases that occur per week by date of onset. Information from the past three weeks may be incomplete due to the time between exposure and laboratory results.
Fairfax Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu cautioned that this data is an underestimate of the true burden of COVID-19 as it is a reflection of who is being tested more than a measure of the prevalence of the virus in the community. She also noted that many people with mild to moderate symptoms are not being diagnosed or tested, so the data primarily represents people with more severe illness and should be interpreted with caution and not used to determine individual risk
In addition, it is important to view the data for Fairfax Health District in light of its large population. Fairfax Health District has the most cases in the Commonwealth of Virginia but not the highest disease prevalence (a measure of cases per 100,000 residents). Generally, rates of confirmed COVID-19 are higher in Northern Virginia than elsewhere in the Commonwealth and Fairfax has rates similar to its neighboring districts.
Fairfax County is closely monitoring the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation. Residents are strongly encouraged to sign up for coronavirus text alerts and to visit the frequently updated website listed below.
Please share this information with your friends and neighbors and do not hesitate to contact my office if we can be of assistance; email Dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-356-0551.
John
John W. Foust
Dranesville District Supervisor
1437 Balls Hill Road
McLean, VA 22101
Phone: 703-356-0551
Fax: 703-821-4275
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