Since February 2020, more than 7,400 people in the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD) have tested positive for COVID-19 and unfortunately over 90 people have died. In response, our communities rallied: mutual aid networks and volunteering increased; nonprofits, private businesses, philanthropists, and local governments redirected their resources and adjusted their missions; and our public health system rapidly expanded to provide free testing, case investigation, and contact tracing while maintaining essential services.
"This has been an extremely challenging year, due both to the impact of COVID-19 on our physical and mental health, and the community-wide loss of jobs, housing, food, and social connections," said Dr. Denise Bonds, Director for the Blue Ridge Health District (formerly Thomas Jefferson Health District). "However, I'd like to reflect on the incredible efforts of our public health staff in response to the pandemic."
Since establishing its response center in February 2020, the Blue Ridge Health District has:
- Hired more than 50 community members for positions paying $18 or more per hour
- Investigated more than 7,200 COVID-19 cases
- Provided guidance and support to over 20,000 close contacts (individuals exposed to someone who was COVID-19 positive)
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Provided wraparound services to more than 400 individuals in partnership with the Charlottesville Food Justice Network/Cultivate Charlottesville, Cville Community Cares, and other local organizations
- Distributed more than 75,000 masks to community members and nearly 40,000 to schools
- Provided essential supplemental food benefits to more than 12,000 families through remote appointments for our Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program
- Responded to nearly 3,000 reported violations of the Governor's COVID-19 Executive Orders
- Reported demographic information on positive tests, hospitalizations, and fatalities - often ahead of any other state agencies
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Answered more than 11,500 calls to our BRHD COVID-19 hotline from community members
BRHD is grateful for the generous support of a local private donor in making free community testing and mask distribution possible. We also appreciate all of the support and partnership from local government, healthcare providers, schools, and many more. Lastly, we are thankful for our community members who doing their part to help end this pandemic by following public health guidance.
As BRHD expands its services again, this time for COVID-19 vaccinations, we recognize and applaud the public health staff in all of our localities who have worked thousands of hours to maintain essential services and to stop the spread and impact of COVID-19.
Wishing you a healthy New Year,
Denise Bonds, MD, MPH
BRHD Director
