January 29, 2021
To the Fairfax County Community,

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather watch that is in effect from late Saturday evening through Sunday night. In addition, the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang is reporting the possibility of more snow through Tuesday morning, with Fairfax County likely seeing between 4-8 inches of accumulation.

Key information and contacts to help you before, during, and after the potential winter storm are below.
Snow
  • For the latest snow information:
  • You can follow Fairfax County Government, Fairfax County's Office of Emergency Management, and VDOT Northern Virginia on Twitter.
  • You can sign up for Fairfax County Emergency Alerts here.
  • Follow the Fairfax County Emergency Blog here.
  • For questions about snow removal, shoveling, or other winter weather related questions, visit the County's snow webpage here.
  • VDOT/The roads
  • VDOT owns the majority of roads in Fairfax County and they are in charge of plowing them.
  • To report hazardous road conditions, call VDOT’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-367-7623 or visit online.
  • Road conditions can be tracked here and you can track VDOT's plows here.
  • VDOT asks that drivers carefully monitor weather reports for shifts in conditions and make plans now to avoid Wednesday travel.
  • Power outages
  • Dominion: Report a power outage online here or call 1-866-366-4357.
  • NOVEC: Report a power outage online here or call 703-335-0500.
  • Utilities:
  • Report problems:
  • Verizon: 1-800-837-4966
  • Cox: 703-378-8422
  • Washington Gas Emergency: 844-927-4427
  • Hypothermia Shelters: If you see someone who is unsheltered and you think they are at risk of hypothermia, call the County’s non-emergency police phone number: 703-691-2131.
  • Hypothermia Prevention for Pets: Be sure your pet is warm and has adequate care and shelter. Adequate shelter requires that the shelter:
  • Be suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of each animal.
  • Provide adequate space for each animal.
  • Be safe and protect each animal from injury during rain, sleet, snow, and ice.
  • Protect each animal from adverse effects of heat or cold and physical suffering.
  • Protect each animal from impairment of health.
  • Be properly lighted and properly cleaned.
  • Enables each animal to be clean and dry, except when detrimental to the species.
  • Provide a solid surface, resting platform, pad, floormat, or similar device that is large enough for the animal to lie on in a normal manner, and can be maintained in a sanitary manner. (This requirement is for cats and dogs).
Vaccine
  • If you have a vaccine appointment scheduled for Sunday or Monday (during the potential snowfall), the Health Department has your contact information. Should there be a shift in your appointment, they will reach out to you.
  • Some good news: As I mentioned on Monday, due to changes in the way the state distributes vaccine, Fairfax County will be receiving far less and both the County's Health Department and Inova have to roll back vaccine operations.
  • I'm happy to report that as of Thursday, Inova has resumed vaccinating private and public school staff and childcare providers. Supplies are still limited, but our Health Department will continue to work with Inova to schedule appointments as vaccine supply allows. The Health Department continues to operate vaccination clinics for our high risk priority groups in 1a and 1b at our district offices and the Government Center.   
  • Read the latest here on new guidelines for how local health districts should allocate the doses they receive weekly from the state. 
Health
Common Health Questions:

  • People with COVID-19 have a wide range of symptoms reported - ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. You might experience:
  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Continue to follow the health guidelines:
  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer if that isn't an option (especially when in public places)
  • Cough and sneeze into your sleeve
  • Don't touch your face
  • Social distance
  • What it means to social distance, self-isolate, and quarantine.
  • The CDC recommends wearing non-medical masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. It is now required in Virginia.
  • The New York Times (access to COVID-19 content is free) speaks with infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists, and microbiologists to find out if COVID-19 can land on your clothing, hair, shoes, and mail.

COVID-19 Resources:

  • Fairfax County Health Department
  • Fairfax County's data dashboard is here and the Virginia Department of Health's is here.
  • Visit the County site on COVID-19, Health Department Website, and see their FAQs.
  • To view multilingual health materials visit the County's Language Portal.
  • Sign up for text message alerts: text FFXCOVID to 888777. Para inscribirse, textear FFXCOVIDESP a 888777.
  • Call the Health Department from 9am-7pm weekdays and 9:30am-5pm on weekends: 703-267-3511
  • Email: ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov. This account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm.
  • Inova has a helpful FAQ.

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources:
We recognize that we are in very trying times, but I hope you see in these newsletters that positive change has occurred over the last several months.

As I often say, we are truly lucky to live in Fairfax County where we have the resources to overcome challenges and a community who rises to the occasion.

Jeffrey C. McKay
Contact the Office

chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703.324.2321 |