COVID 19 & Budget Town Hall
Tomorrow night at 7 pm I will be hosting a virtual town hall to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the FY2021 Budget. County Executive Bryan Hill will be joining me to attempt to answer any questions you may have. You can watch the town hall and submit questions from the comfort of your own home. More details are below:
To watch the town hall, you can...
- Watch on your TV on Channel 16 (Cox Channel 1016; Verizon/Comcast Channel 16)
- Stream the town hall on the Channel 16 website www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cableconsumer/channel-16/live-video-stream
- Stream the town hall on my official Facebook page
You can submit questions by...
- Calling into the studio at 703-324-1114
- Emailing SpringfieldBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov, please put Town Hall as the email subject
- Send a message to my Supervisor Pat Herrity Facebook page www.facebook.com/SupervisorPatHerrity
Support for Affected Workers
Governor Northam has loosened some of the restrictions concerning unemployment assistance in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Virginia Employment commissioned has waved the one-week waiting period so workers can be eligible for benefits immediately. According to Wavy 10, "Virginia workers may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits based on the following:
- Their employer needs to temporarily slow or cease operations due to coronavirus
- They are in self-quarantine but not receiving sick pay or medical leave from their employer
- They are staying home to take care of ill family member and not receiving paid family medical leave"
You can find more information in their full article here.
Metro Service Further Reduced
Effective today (Wednesday, March 18)-and continuing until further notice-Metro service will operate as follows:
Metrorail:
- Rail system hours and service levels are further reduced to support essential travel.
- New hours: Weekdays 5AM-11PM, Sat/Sun 8AM-11PM
- Trains will run every 15 minutes on each line at all times, including the Red Line. All trains will operate with 8 cars, the maximum possible length, to help maintain social distancing between customers.
- Metro's Rail Operations Control Centers (two) will actively monitor trains and station platforms for any possible crowding, something that has not been an issue at any point during the pandemic emergency response.
- Metro is reducing/cancelling track work, except emergency maintenance and inspections, to avoid unexpected delays and maintain 15-minute intervals between trains.
Metrobus:
- Bus hours and service levels are further reduced to support essential travel.
- Buses will operate on a Sunday schedule, with supplemental service on selected routes to prevent crowding and ensure areas are not cut off. Visit wmata.com for information about "supplemental" routes that will operate, in addition to Sunday routes.
- IMPORTANT: Bus operators are granted the authority to bypass bus stops to maintain safe social distancing aboard the vehicle.
- These actions reduce the number of Metro employees and buses required to maintain service by more than 60 percent.
MetroAccess:
- All subscription trips are cancelled until further notice. Customers with a critical need to travel should make a separate reservation calling 301-562-5360 (TTY 301-588-7535) or via the online reservation system.
- Customers are strongly encouraged to travel only if absolutely necessary.
HOA and Civic Association Help
Neighbor-to-Neighbor is offering to assist HOA, Civic and Community Association leaders to organize opportunities for neighbors to provide volunteer services such as grocery deliveries and friendly check-in phone calls to those most vulnerable in their neighborhood. HOA leaders can contact N2N@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-246-8962.
Volunteer & Donation Opportunities
There is currently a dire need for volunteers and donations around the County. Volunteer Fairfax has created a webpage where you can see all the opportunities they are aware of. You can see the entire listing for donation and volunteer needs
here.
If you are a non-profit in need of volunteers or donations, you can reach out to Kim at
kluckabaugh@volunteerfairfax.org to have your request listed.
COVID-19 Updates
The current pandemic is a dynamic situation. Fairfax County will continue to change plans as we learn more about COVID-19 and as situations unfold. Along with my office continuing our best efforts to share information with you, there are several ways you can stay aware with what's going on around the County:
- Learn more about COVID-19 on the county's website, http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel-coronavirus
- Call 703-267-3511 with questions. The call center is open from 9:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
- Residents may also text FFXCOVID to 888777 to receive updates from Fairfax County about COVID-19.
Other Useful Updates and Information
Department of Emergency Management
The Virginia emergency operations center has created an email to answer any questions or concerns you may have for the state government:
COVID19JIC@vdem.virginia.gov.
Keep the Little Ones Busy
My office has been made aware of several virtual tours and field trips you can take from your computer. Click
here to tour 33 national parks from your own home. You can click
here for information about 12 famous museums tours you can take from your couch.
On the lighter side
- March of the penguins- Many of you reached out and say thank you for the video of the Shedd Aquarium penguins visiting the other animals. If you missed the link yesterday, you can watch the video here. If you would like to watch the penguins Two Oceans Aquarium of Cape Town, South Africa make their way down the stairs, you can do so here.
- Conference Call Bingo- Many of you may be experiencing a few more painful conference calls than normal. Below is a Bingo card to help you make it through:
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