To the Fairfax County Community,
Thanksgiving is just days away and I'm sure many are looking forward to enjoying their favorite Thanksgiving side dishes with loved ones.
You likely have heard the following message before, either from me or from officials across the country, but I want to take this final opportunity to encourage you to be safe by celebrating the holiday with those in your household. My family and I are taking this advice with a small meal with just my wife and two kids.
Whatever your plans are, you are greatly encouraged to: wear a mask and social distance. COVID-19 spreads through large particles in the air and these are the most effective ways at preventing it. Particularly if you are indoors.
Your care in the following weeks will help to control the rise in cases and keep hospitalizations and deaths down. I understand this is disappointing, but it's the reality we face. Please take care and consider Fairfax County's holiday guidance here. Remember, we are all responsible for keeping our community safe.
As most of you know restrictions on gatherings and businesses are determined in Virginia by the Governor, not your Board of Supervisors. I am in regular communication with Governor Northam and his team about our health metrics. This collaboration has been critical in fighting this virus and will continue to be as we navigate the road ahead.
See below for the full November 24 edition of my newsletter. For COVID-19 resources mentioned in past newsletters, visit my website. If you have a friend who would like to sign up for this newsletter, they can do so here. |
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- Like most other places across the country our cases are increasing. Unfortunately, our case load is approaching our peak numbers from earlier in the pandemic.
- Why has this increase occurred?
- Our case investigators are seeing more exposures occurring in work places, at celebratory events and gatherings, and within households.
- This trend is similar to those found in research by the CDC, which suggests that household contacts and indoor gatherings are common sources of COVID-19 transmission.
- What can you do?
- Stay vigilant, just because you want COVID to be gone, doesn't mean it is.
- We must continue to stay home when sick, social distance, wear masks, and hand wash frequently.
- If you need a test or have questions about COVID-19:
- Call the Fairfax County Health Department at 703-267-3511; from 9:30 am- 7 pm weekdays and 9:30 am-5 pm weekends.
- Visit the County's testing information page.
- This is particularly important for Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season. See our guidance here.
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Fairfax County Percent Positive COVID-19 Cases |
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Percent Positives Tests
- Our percent positivity rate has been increasing for five consecutive weeks and has been above 5% for four consecutive weeks.
- For specimens collected during the week of November 8 the percent positivity rate in Fairfax County was 7.72%. Today, the Virginia Department of Health shows our positivity rate at 8.2%.
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Virginia's positivity rate is currently at 7.2%.
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Fairfax County Hospitalizations |
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Hospitalizations
- Hospitalizations for COVID-related illness has recently increased, although counts remain below historical high levels.
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Testing
- Since early July, testing totals have remained above 10,000 tests per week among Fairfax Health District residents.
- 15,550 tests have been reported that were collected during the week of November 8.
Contact Tracing
- As of November 4, 373 of 432 contract COVID response staff have been hired.
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Fairfax Health District is looking to expand the contact tracing staff and is seeking weekend contact interviewers. Learn more here.
Hospital Beds and Intensive Care
- Overall available hospital beds were at 17%. This is a 1% decrease from the November 4 report.
- A fluctuating trend averaging near 20% in available adult critical care beds has been observed.
Personal Protective Equipment
- PPE for hospitals appears to continue to be adequate.
- PPE for outpatient/private practice/long term care facilities continues to be a challenge.
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- If you must go to the workplace or your employees must, take the following guidance into account:
- All workplaces must facilitate ways for people to stay at least 6 feet from others, wear masks, practice frequent handwashing, and avoid crowds.
- Evaluate the risk posed by break rooms/common areas where employees gather.
- When employees socialize they tend to stand closer together than is recommended. This is a higher risk when employees are eating because masks are not worn.
- Consider closing break rooms or placing chairs and tables at least 6 feet apart to reinforce appropriate physical distancing.
- Staff with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should not come to work while ill.
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Encourage employees to stay home when they are sick. Ensure that employees are aware of the signs/symptoms of COVID-19.
- If an employee develops symptoms while at work, ensure that they are able to promptly separate from other workers. Employees should be encouraged to isolate at home as soon as possible.
- Provide telework options for staff whenever possible. This can decrease the number of people in the building and help decrease the risk of COVID-19 transmission for those whose jobs are not conducive to telework.
- For employees who have had close contact with a person with COVID-19, a negative COVID-19 test does not end quarantine early.
- VDH and CDC guidelines require close contacts to quarantine for 14 days after exposure, even if they test negative during that 14-day timeframe. Testing close contacts helps identify infected employees sooner, but it does not allow the employee to end their quarantine early.
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More information about isolation and quarantine guidelines can be found in this infographic that describes when it is safe to end isolation and quarantine and go back to work.
- Employers are important in assisting public health with case investigation to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
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The new COVID-19 standard adopted by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry requires all employers to report positive cases of COVID-19 to VDH.
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The Emergency Temporary Standard also provides that “The employer shall notify the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry within 24 hours of the discovery of three (3) or more employees present at the place of employment within a 14-day period testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus during that 14-day time period.”
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COVID-19 case reports must be filed through VDH’s online reporting portal.
- Please provide all of the information requested by this online form to support public health in following up with these cases. The contact tracing process helps identify people who may have been exposed to people with COVID-19 so that those people can stay home and avoid exposing other people.
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Cuentas en redes sociales en español |
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¿Sabías que tenemos páginas sociales exclusivamente en español? ¡Es verdad! El condado de Fairfax tiene dos nuevas cuentas de redes sociales en español. Así como un sitio de noticias breves que afecta a nuestra comunidad. Estos son algunos de los nuevos sitios de información que tenemos para brindarle un mejor servicio. Te invitamos a seguirnos y compartir la información que publicamos.
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Common Health Questions:
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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
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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.
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The CDC recommends wearing non-medical masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. It is now required in Virginia.
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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.
Resources:
- Fairfax County Health Department
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Fairfax County's data dashboard is here and the Virginia Department of Health's is here.
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Visit the County site on COVID-19, Health Department Website, and see their FAQs.
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To view multilingual health materials visit the County's Language Portal.
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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
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Email: [email protected]. This account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm.
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Inova has a helpful FAQ.
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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
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