[Archived] City of Alexandria Provides COVID-19 Updates; Funeral Guidance; Emergency Food Distribution this Saturday

­­For Immediate Release: November 11, 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. To stop the spread of COVID-19, the state order and City ordinance require everyone ages 10 and older to wear a mask over their nose and mouth in indoor public places and when at least 6 feet of physical distance cannot be maintained between those of different households in outdoor public places, with limited exceptions. Your neighbors and loved ones are counting on you. 

Funeral Guidance

Planning a funeral and managing grief can be especially difficult and emotionally overwhelming while COVID-19 is still active in our community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides funeral guidance, which offers suggestions for planning and helping loved ones to cope with loss during the pandemic. Gatherings and interactions with people in high-contact occupations, such as caterers, florists, clergy, and funeral home staff, may increase the possibility of spread. The CDC recommends that funeral attendees wear masks and avoid physical contact; gather outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces large enough to maintain physical distance; avoid sharing common religious items such as books or collections plates; and reduce the number of people who participate in singing or chanting. While the minimum safe physical distance is usually 6 feet, at least 10 feet should be maintained between people who are singing or chanting. Managing grief in addition to the stress and anxiety of the pandemic can be difficult. Loved ones are encouraged to find alternate ways of supporting each other, such as sharing memories and feelings of loss with household members or through virtual calls and memory books.

Emergency Food Distribution this Saturday

ALIVE! Truck-to-Trunk will distribute emergency groceries at two drive-through sites on Saturday, November 14, 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the parking lot of Cora Kelly Elementary School (3600 Commonwealth Ave.) and parking lot B-1 of the Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria Campus (3320 Bisdorf Drive). To minimize risk of possible exposure to COVID-19, attendees are asked to drive through and remain in their cars and stay home if they feel sick. Walk-up customers are permitted but should maintain 6 feet of physical distance, wear face masks, and bring carts or reusable bags to carry food home. Additional food assistance resources are available for Alexandria residents.   

Alexandria COVID-19 Data At-a-Glance

The chart below, containing the seven-day moving average number of COVID-19 cases and the daily and cumulative case and fatality counts, provides detailed information about how preventive measures are impacting Alexandria's response to the pandemic. An interactive version is available at alexandriava.gov/114883. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, are available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.    

AHD estimates that approximately 1 in 13 Alexandrians who tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospitalization. An estimated 66% of Virginia adults who become infected never have symptoms. The best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 remain wearing a mask in public, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others, and frequently washing your hands or carrying and using hand sanitizer with at least 60% ethyl alcohol. Help your loved ones and neighbors by answering a call from AHD if identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19, and download the Virginia Department of Health’s COVIDWISE app to be quickly and anonymously notified of likely exposure to the virus.