[Archived] City of Alexandria Provides COVID-19 Updates; Health Directors Urge Mask Use Indoors; Community Vaccine Events; Provide Feedback on Outdoor Business Programs

­­For Immediate Release: August 3, 2021

Help end the pandemic by wearing a mask over both your nose and mouth, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated. Approximately 1 in 20 Alexandrians who have tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospitalization, so without these critical steps, additional lives may be at risk.

Health Directors Urge Mask Use Indoors

Today, all five Northern Virginia Health Directors issued a joint letter of interim recommendations for mask wearing in Northern Virginia. The letter was issued by Health Directors from the City of Alexandria, as well as Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties to Northern Virginia Mayors, Chairs and Chief Administrative Officers with the recommendation that individuals wear masks while indoors in government and other public settings, regardless of vaccination status.

The recommendation follows all five jurisdictions’ recent upward trend in average number of daily cases and being categorized as communities of substantial transmission. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated its recommendations for mask use on July 27. The new guidance provides strategies for everyone—whether fully vaccinated or unvaccinated—to reduce the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Community Vaccine Events through August 21

AHD offers multiple pop-up clinics every week around the city where anyone aged twelve and up can receive their free first and second doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. As part of Alexandria's commitment to serving all communities, clinics are hosted at a variety of times in conveniently located neighborhood locations and do not require ID, insurance or English fluency.

Provide Feedback on Outdoor Business Programs

The City seeks feedback from residents, business operators and visitors to inform the planning of proposals to make outdoor business programs permanent. Programs include the closure of the 100 block of King Street to vehicles, the use of on-street parking spaces for dining, retail and fitness use and the curbside loading zones for customer pick-up of food and merchandise. City Council approved the initiatives in 2020 to provide safe opportunities to patronize and support City businesses during the challenging economic times associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary programs are in effect until January 1, 2022.

Responses to the Outdoor Business Program Feedback Form will inform proposals for continuing these initiatives after the January 1 expiration date for consideration by the Alexandria City Council at their October public hearing. The deadline to provide feedback is September 10. 

Alexandria COVID-19 Data At-a-Glance

The Alexandria COVID-19 Dashboard below shows the daily change in the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths and 7-day average, as well as the cumulative totals. The chart focuses on the past 90 days and provides context for the CDC transmission levels. An interactive version is available at alexandriava.gov/114883. The Alexandria COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard below includes total doses administered across all facilities, the percentage of residents ages 12 and older who have received at least one dose, the number partially and fully vaccinated, and progress toward Alexandria’s and the state’s vaccination goals. Vaccination charts are available at alexandriava.gov/120654. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, are available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus. 



At least one dose: Total number of people who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including those who received one dose of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine. This metric includes all people who have received only one dose and those who received at least one dose.

Fully Vaccinated: Total number or percent of people who have completed the recommended series of a given vaccine product (i.e., two doses of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or one dose of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine).

Partially Vaccinated: Total number of people who have received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine course but have not yet received the second dose. 

Continue following measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 even after vaccination. Get tested if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. If you test positive, help loved ones and neighbors by informing your close contacts using “ What to Do If You Get Sick” guidance, which is available in Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, and Farsi or this brief video.