To the Fairfax County Community,
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for tomorrow. The forecast predicts a messy mix of snow, sleet, and freezing r ain. Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice and travel could be nearly impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on stairs, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury.
As a result of the weather, COVID-19 vaccine clinics scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 18) at the Fairfax County Government Center and the four Health Department District office sites are cancelled. People who have appointments will receive an email informing them of the cancellation. The cancellation notice will contain a link to reschedule your appointment for the upcoming week. Please note that appointment locations may be at a different site than you were originally scheduled for. No changes have been made to Friday appointments at this time. Read more here.
Finally, as you may be aware, the Fairfax Health District is not yet participating in the statewide registration system. Ideally, this was to cut down confusion. Despite this, the Virginia Department of Health has sent notifications to Fairfax residents about registration. This was a mass email that VDH has sent based off of one of their data systems and should be disregarded. Please make sure you are registered in the Fairfax system here and if you are not you may register here (or call the vaccine hotline at 703-324-7404).
Key information and contacts to help you before, during, and after the potential winter storm are below.
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- 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
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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).
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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
- Follow mitigation practices:
- 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
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Wear a mask (Which is required in Virginia.)
- What it means to social distance, self-isolate, and quarantine.
- If interacting with others outside of your household, being outside is safer than inside. You can make your home safer by increasing ventilation and filtration.
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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
- To view the number of cases in Fairfax County this page is updated at noon daily.
- 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.
Vaccine Resources:
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We recognize that we are in very trying times, but I hope this newsletter helps you track the progress we are making.
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
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Contact the Office
chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov | 703.324.2321 |
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