The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial is currently closed to the public due COVID protocols and may not be open to the public by September 11, a Pentagon spokesperson confirms to ARLnow.
The Department of Defense closed down the 9/11 Memorial and public tours again earlier this month due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the region.
(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) A day after declaring that vaccine booster shots were “not currently available,” Arlington started offering them.
“On Tuesday, August 17, Arlington County Public Health will begin offering an additional, or third, dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) to certain immunocompromised people,” Arlington County announced yesterday in a press release. “This follows FDA’s amended Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and the CDC’s adoption of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation.”
Arlington’s Biggest House Numbers? — “In the early days of the pandemic, I went on a quixotic quest to walk every one of the 1,114 blocks in my Arlington, Virginia, ZIP code, cataloging the styles of the address numbers on every house along the way… I have kept an eye on the house numbers in Arlington ever since, and imagine my joy this spring when suddenly, on a street I biked down every week, a new set of enormous house numbers appeared.” [Slate, Twitter]
Stepped Up DUI Patrols Begin Today — “This Labor Day, the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is participating in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired driving awareness campaign, which runs from August 18th through September 6th, 2021. This campaign aims to drastically reduce drunk driving on our nation’s roadways through a two-pronged approach of education and enforcement.” [ACPD]
After a month of rising Covid cases, there are some signs that the growth in new cases appears to be slowing.
The seven-day moving average of new daily cases increased by only one over the past week — from 31 to 32 cases per day — the slowest weekly growth since the county’s coronavirus case count started rising one month ago, amid the nationwide surge of the virus’ delta variant.
Vax Mandade for County, APS Employees — “Arlington County Government and Arlington Public Schools (APS) will implement a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees. This joint action, effective August 30, is a necessary step to help keep the community safe and is consistent with COVID-19 public health guidance. This policy will also apply to interns, volunteers, substitutes, and contractors… All unvaccinated employees will be required to be tested at least weekly for COVID-19 to limit the potential spread in the workforce and in the community. Testing will be provided at no cost to the employee.” [Arlington County]
Mask Mandate for Va. Schools — “Virginia will require all students, teachers and staff in K-12 schools to wear masks indoors this fall, even if they are vaccinated, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Thursday. The mandate, set forth in a public health emergency order, is sure to stir controversy and anger amid an already fractious debate over education in the state.” [Washington Post, Gov. Ralph Northam]
Many Arlington car dealerships are struggling to stock cars amid a nationwide shortage of computer chips.
At Mercedes-Benz of Arlington in Ballston, formerly known as American Service Center, a lot once stocked with around 130 used cars available for sale has emptied out to 63 vehicles, according to Ron Moghisi, who manages pre-owned sales. He said many of the cars were purchased at nearly 30% over the normal list price.
The bad news is that the rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington continues to rise. The good news is that few people are getting seriously ill from the disease.
The trailing seven-day average of new Covid cases in the county is now up to 32, the highest point since mid-April, when getting vaccinated still required proof of eligibility. On Friday, 42 new cases were reported, the highest one-day total since April 9.
Fallen Pentagon Officer Remembered — “George Gonzalez was a proud New Yorker, ever loyal to his home turf of Brooklyn and the New York Yankees. He was also a proud Army veteran, having served a ferocious tour at the height of the Iraq War, always mindful of his comrades who didn’t come home. And he was a proud police officer, like his older brother, having served as an airport security agent, a federal jail guard and finally a Pentagon police officer.” [Washington Post]
DCA Passenger Traffic Still Down — “The airport’s passenger count in July was down 35.2 percent from the same month in 2019… The biggest challenge facing Reagan National will be an ongoing dearth of business travel. While some airline executives are expecting to see some rebound this fall, the U.S. Travel Association predicts that business-travel spending will not be back to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.” [Sun Gazette]
(Updated at 6:15 p.m.) Across from the Shirlington Dog Park, locals can be found sitting at high top tables, drinking crafted beer and enjoying each other’s company again for, in some cases, the first time in over a year.
New District Brewing Co. General Manager David Warren tells ARLnow that his customers have said this brewery, which opened in 2016, is one of the only places where they felt safe coming to throughout the pandemic.
Following the lead of the state and the federal government, Arlington County is considering a mandate for its employees and contractors to be vaccinated.
Last week President Biden announced that federal employees must either sign forms attesting to be vaccinated or submit to mandatory masking, weekly testing and distancing. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a similar policy for more than 100,000 state employees yesterday.
Health Directors Urge Mask Wearing — “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.” [City of Alexandria, PDF]
Flags at Half-Staff to Honor Fallen Officer — From NBC 4’s Jackie Bensen: “Secretary of Defense orders Pentagon flags flown at half-mast to honor Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer killed in the line of duty this morning.” [Twitter]
Arlington County has reached a “substantial” amount of community transmission, according to the CDC, amid a national “surge” in Covid cases.
As the highly contagious delta variant of the virus spreads and sets new records, Arlington is not being spared. But the county is still well below this past winter’s high water marks in terms of cases and hospitalizations.
