October 14, 2020
To the Fairfax County Community,

Today, the Office of Elections opened 15 satellite early voting locations across the County, almost double the number of sites we usually have. Remember you can vote in-person at these locations or you may drop off your mail-in ballot in a ballot drop box. You can see the hours and times of all early voting locations here. I also included an election FAQ in my last newsletter that you can read here.

In addition, due to yesterday's outage on the Virginia Department of Election's Citizen Portal, a federal judge extended the voter registration deadline to October 15 at 11:59pm. If you haven't yet registered to vote, you can do so here.

See below for the full October 14 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.
COVID-19
  • Our data and case numbers are looking good, but this disease is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • The virus is still with us and we can only continue to protect ourselves and our loved ones through social distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, and staying home when sick.
Fairfax County Percent Positive COVID-19 Cases
Percent Positives Tests

  • Since the week of September 13, the COVID-19 positivity in Fairfax County has remained below 5%.
  • Currently, the percent positivity is 3.56% for specimens collected during week 40.

Fairfax County Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations

  • Hospitalizations for COVID-related illness remain low with a steady trend.
  • Single day spikes in hospitalizations can be observed and are attributable to retrospective data cleaning. 
Fairfax County Testing
Testing

  • Since early July, testing totals have remained above 10,000 tests per week among Fairfax Health District residents.
  • 12,930 tests have been reported that were collected during the week of September 27 (Week 40).

Contact Tracing

  • As of October 7, 341 of 411 contract COVID response staff have been hired. 
  • Additional cohorts will occur as necessary to fill vacancies and address response needs.

Hospital Beds and Intensive Care

  • Overall available hospital beds were at 22%. This is a 1% decrease from the September 21 report.
  • Since the beginning of October, a fluctuating trend averaging near 25% 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. 

Halloween

  • Fairfax County is not recommending traditional trick-or-treating this year.
  • Low-risk activities allow for safe social distancing, mask wearing, and limited contact with people outside of your household.
  • Read more on Fairfax County's guidelines here.

COVID-19 Vaccine

  • While there is not yet a COVID-19 vaccine, the Fairfax County Health Department is working with the Virginia Department of Health to develop a distribution plan.
  • Read more here for an overview of the vaccine testing process and the current status of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Flu

  • With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full force and influenza season now starting, it’s more important than ever that everyone do their part to help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses.
  • We encourage everyone 6 months of age and older to get a flu shot this year and every year. 
  • Fairfax County is running flu shot clinics through early November. You can find dates, times, and more information here.
Other News
Neighborhood and Community Services Community Centers

  • Community centers reopened to the public for limited use yesterday.
  • Centers will be open Monday through Friday, 9am-8pm for self-directed activities, technical support, and the Parent Connect program only.
  • As space is limited, reservations are required and must be made in advance. Additionally, participants must sign a liability waiver.
  • Learn more here.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans

  • Last week, the US Small Businesses Administration released a simpler loan forgiveness application for PPP loans of $50,000 or less.
  • You can view the application here and instructions for completing the application here.

Community Corner

  • Community Corner is a new platform from our Department of Family Services that provides information on upcoming events, parenting and wellness tips, programs and services, and more.
  • You can read more and subscribe here.

Healthy Minds Foster Futures Virtual 5K

  • Hosted by Fairfax County's Department of Family Services, the Virtual 5K event seeks to reduce the stigma of mental health.
  • Learn more here.
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) spoke 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
  • 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: [email protected]. This account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm.
  • Inova has a helpful FAQ.
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

[email protected] | 703.324.2321 |