July 16, 2020
To the Fairfax County Community,

I wanted to give you an update on how our case data is looking. As I mentioned in Tuesday's newsletter, Fairfax County is looking good and continuing to improve. At the beginning of this pandemic, Fairfax Health District had one of the highest percentages of positive cases statewide; we now have one of the lowest.

We must continue to be diligent however; social distancing, washing your hands, and wearing a face mask are still crucial. There is growing evidence that supports the effectiveness of face masks, including in a recent CDC editorial  in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They reviewed case studies like in Missouri where two hair stylists had COVID-19, but didn’t spread the disease to any of their clients because both employees and customers were required to wear face coverings. Read more on face coverings here .

See below for the full July 16 edition of my newsletter. For the resources mentioned in past newsletters, visit my website. If you have a friend who would like to sign up for this newsletter, they can do so here.
What's changed?

Fairfax County Percentage of Positive COVID-19 Cases
COVID-19 Case Data

  • Percentage of positive tests over 14 days: Moving downward.
  • Status: At least ten weeks of a downward trend has been observed. 6% of COVID tests were positive during the week of June 28, 2020.
Fairfax County Hospitalizations
  • Hospitalizations over 14 days: Moving downward.
  • Status: Since peaking at 53 reported hospitalizations on May 3, a general downward trend has been observed.
  • Testing: Increased testing capacity, but the total number of tests is trending downward.
  • During the week of June 28, 7,443 tests have been reported among Fairfax Health District residents.
  • Recent decreasing test totals may be a reflection of decreased perceived risk in the community, which would impact COVID test seeking behaviors.
  • Again, the decrease in test totals is not a reflection of decreased testing capacity.
  • Increased contact tracing capacity.
  • Significant progress has been made to develop the infrastructure needed to respond to every new case, trace and actively monitor their close contacts, and coordinate testing for symptomatic contacts.
  • To date, 144 of 406 contract COVID response staff have been hired and all of those hires will have completed training this week. Remaining positions should be filled by mid-August.
  • If you are interested in becoming a contact tracer, the Health Department is still looking for people to apply.
  • Remember, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been identified as a close contact with someone who has COVID-19, a contact tracer will call you - so be sure to answer the phone.
Northern Virginia Hospital Bed Availability
  • Enough hospital beds and intensive care capacity.
  • Overall available hospital beds were at 28%; a 3% increase from the June 24 report.
  • Since late June, an increase in available adult critical care beds to approximately 37% has been observed.
  • Increasing and sustainable supply of PPE.
  • PPE for hospitals appears to continue to be adequate.
  • PPE for outpatient/private practice/long term care facilities continues to be a challenge. We continue to work closely with LTCFs to supply their PPE requests, as needed.
Virginia Workplace Safety Standards

  • The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Safety and Health Codes Board approved temporary, emergency standards that are anticipated to take effect the week of July 27.
  • The newly adopted standards require all employers to:
  • Mandate social distancing measures and face coverings for employees in customer-facing positions and when social distancing is not possible.
  • Regularly clean high-contact surfaces, including bathrooms and shared tools or equipment.
  • Provide easy and frequent access for employees to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.
  • Assess workplaces for potential hazards that can cause exposure to COVID-19 and put in place an Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan for high-risk employees.
  • Notify all employees within 24 hours if a coworker tests positive for the virus.
  • Regulations also require additional steps be taken for employees that have a medium to higher risk of exposure to the disease.
  • Workers can file a complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration online or call 800-321-6742 (OSHA).
  • Read more.
Health
Common Health Questions:

  • People with COVID-19 have a wide range of symptoms reported - ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. You might experience:
  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Continue to follow the health guidelines:
  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer if that isn't an option (especially when in public places)
  • Cough and sneeze into your sleeve
  • Don't touch your face
  • Social distance
  • What it means to social distance, self-isolate, and quarantine.
  • The CDC recommends wearing non-medical masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. It is now required in Virginia.
  • The New York Times (access to COVID-19 content is free) spoke with infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists, and microbiologists to find out if COVID-19 can land on your clothing, hair, shoes, and mail.

Resources:

  • Fairfax County Health Department
  • To view the number of cases in Fairfax County this page is updated at noon daily.
  • Visit the County site on COVID-19, Health Department Website, and see their FAQs.
  • To view multilingual health materials visit the County's Language Portal.
  • Sign up for text message alerts: text FFXCOVID to 888777. Para inscribirse, textear FFXCOVIDESP a 888777.
  • Call the Health Department from 9am-7pm weekdays and 9:30am-5pm on weekends: 703-267-3511
  • Email: [email protected]. This account will be staffed Monday through Friday, 8am-8pm.
  • Inova has a helpful FAQ.
We recognize that we are in very trying times, but I hope you see in these newsletters that positive change has occurred over the last several months.

As I often say, we are truly lucky to live in Fairfax County where we have the resources to overcome challenges and a community who rises to the occasion.

Jeffrey C. McKay
Contact the Office

[email protected] | 703.324.2321 |