For Immediate Release: July 16, 2020
The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) remind everyone that you are safest at home. Older adults, persons with underlying medical conditions and pregnant women are at greater risk for severe disease and are advised to minimize potential exposures as much as possible. Please keep at least 6 feet of distance from others. Everyone is required to wear a face covering in most indoor public settings. Your neighbors and loved ones are counting on you to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Backed by City funding, the Alexandria Health Department, Neighborhood Health, and the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) recently implemented a targeted COVID-19 testing event aimed at low-income seniors. Neighborhood Health, a local federally qualified health center, tested nearly 130 residents of the Ladrey and Annie B. Rose apartment buildings with support from AHD's Medical Reserve Corps volunteers. The City and AHD also provided a bag of supplies to each participant, including two cloth face covers, two bottles of hand sanitizer, and a packet of crucial health and support service information. AHD will be identifying and coordinating future sites for targeted testing events over the next month. Outside of these events, Neighborhood Health is available for primary care and COVID-19 testing for residents with or without insurance. Alexandrians are encouraged to make an appointment online or call 703.535.5568.
Virginia has become the first state to adopt statewide emergency workplace safety standards in response to COVID-19. These standards require all employers to mandate the use of personal protective equipment for employees in customer-facing positions and when physical distancing is not possible; regularly sanitize high-contact surfaces; provide regular access to hand washing or hand sanitizer; develop infectious disease preparedness and response plans; and maintain recordkeeping and training.
The new standards require that all employees be notified within 24 hours if a coworker tests positive for the virus. Employees who are known or suspected to be positive for COVID-19 cannot return to work for 10 days or until they receive two consecutive negative tests. The emergency temporary standards, infectious disease preparedness and response plan templates, and training guidance will be posted on the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry website at doli.virginia.gov. Workers who feel unsafe in their workplace can file a formal complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Alexandria is now 2,507. The current fatality report is at 56, a drop in one case following the Virginia Department of Health’s reassignment of one fatality from Alexandria to another jurisdiction. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, is available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus. The virus that causes COVID-19 is spread both by people who are symptomatic and by those who do not know that they are infected. Everyone is safest at home. This is especially true for those in high-risk populations (such as older adults, persons living in long-term care facilities, and those with serious underlying medical conditions). If you must go out, please maintain 6 feet of distance from others, wear a cloth face covering, and always carry hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol with you. Everyone must do their part to stop the spread.
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