For Immediate Release: September 4, 2020
The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) remind everyone that you are safest at home. Older adults and persons with underlying medical conditions 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 mask over both their nose and mouth at all times in most indoor public settings. Use Virginia Department of Health’s COVIDWISE app to be quickly and anonymously notified of likely exposure to the virus. Your neighbors and loved ones are counting on you.
Updates are now available for the Community Testing Strategic Action Framework. AHD developed a series of Strategic Action Frameworks to address and record the City’s response to COVID-19. These living documents are adapted and modified based on the evolving understanding of COVID-19 and shifting resources. Updates to the Strategic Action Frameworks reflect when tactics have yielded results, tasks have been completed, new information has been introduced which informs future action, and there have been changes to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
One of the most effective ways to help stop the spread of COVID-19 is to stay informed when there has been likely exposure to someone who is infected. Contact tracing is a technique used by public health authorities to contact and give guidance to anyone who may have been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The City has developed a contact tracing fact sheet to demystify the process by encouraging everyone to answer the call and explaining what to expect. No one is in trouble when the health department calls. No one will ever ask for sensitive information, such as social security number, bank account information, or immigration status. A call from AHD is intended to help protect the public from infection, ensure that everyone is healthy when they are out in public, and help Alexandrians be part of the solution to ending COVID-19.
The City and AHD encourage residents to download the COVIDWISE app to facilitate contact tracing in the event of potential exposure to someone who has COVID-19. COVIDWISE uses Bluetooth technology to notify others with the app if they have likely been exposed and allow them to take the necessary steps to prevent spreading the infection to family and friends. The app is free and voluntary, and the more people there are using it, the more effective it is. An app user who chooses to submit a positive diagnosis to inform others of their possible exposure must be verified with VDH. The app is anonymous, and information provided by app users is not collected, stored or used by any organization or agency. During September, VDH is hosting webinars to share more information about COVIDWISE.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Alexandria is now 3,459, including 62 fatalities. COVID-19 is spread by people whether or not they have symptoms, and AHD estimates that nearly 9% of infected Alexandrians have required hospitalization. Everyone must do their part to stop the spread: maintain at least 6 feet of distance from others, wear a mask over both the nose and mouth, and carry and use hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethyl alcohol. With a recent increase in cases, you are more likely to encounter someone who is infected. Be prepared to answer a call from the Alexandria Health Department in case you are identified as a close contact. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, is available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.
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