Fairfax County to begin reopening May 29
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| A COVID testing event at Annandale High School on May 23. |
Fairfax County, along with other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, will be able to meet the criteria for entering Phase 1 of Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan for reopening, states Board of Supervisors chair Jeffrey McKay.
As a result, Fairfax County will enter Phase 1 on Friday, May 29, as efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 seem to be taking hold.
Under Phase 1, non-essential businesses, places of workshop, and personal care establishments can open with certain capacity limits and other restrictions. Restaurants can open with outdoor seating, and gyms can have outdoor classes.
Despite the downward trend over the past few days, the Fairfax County Health Department reported a big jump in COVID cases on May 25. There were 499 new cases and a total of 9,587 cases and 339 deaths in the Fairfax Health District. That’s nine deaths since May 22. There are also two cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in the Fairfax Health District.
According to Northern Virginia’s health directors, the region has met four of the six criteria necessary for moving into Phase 1, and McKay says the other two should be met soon.
Related story: People wait for hours for COVID tests in Annandale
One of those unmet goals is an increased level of contact tracing, but McKay says, “we are finalizing a contract, hopefully this week, to provide recruitment and staffing for the hundreds of contact tracers and investigators that we will need to increase our capacity of contact tracing.”
The other unmet goal is an increased and sustainable supply of personal protective equipment. Northern Virginia has a sufficient supply of PPE for hospitals, McKay says, and hopes the state will provide more PPE for private practices, long-term care facilities, and first responders.
The criteria that Northern Virginia has met include:
- a downward trend in positive tests over 14 days;
- a downward trend in hospitalizations over 14 days;
- increased testing; and
- enough hospital beds and intensive care capacity.
Most of the rest of Virginia moved into Phase 1 on May 15, but Northam agreed with the Northern Virginia leaders who requested a two-week delay, as the region hadn’t attained the required health benchmarks.
Northern Virginia leaders sent a letter to Northam May 25 stating the region is now ready to move into Phase 1 on May 29. In addition to McKay, letter was signed by Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey, Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis Randall, Prince William County Board Chair Ann Wheeler, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood, Middleburg Mayor Bridge Littleton, City of Fairfax Mayor David Meyer, Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel, and Vienna Mayor Laurie DiRocco.
A May 25 letter from Northern Virginia health directors requests that the region move to Phase 2 in concert with the rest of the commonwealth when that date is established.
They also call for additional metrics to be considered for Phase 2 and Phase 3, including contact tracing indicators and availability of facilities for non-hospitalized people needing to be isolated or quarantined.
In Phase 2, restrictions on businesses would be eased even more, and in Phase 3, the limits on social gatherings and capacity limits for businesses would be ended.