(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) After a two-and-a-half month, barely-interrupted march upward, Arlington’s average daily Covid case count has eased a bit over the past three days.
After reaching a seven-day moving average of 198 daily cases on Saturday, this morning the same metric was down to 193. At the same time, however, the county’s test positivity rate is continuing to rise, reaching 14.9% today, the highest point since late January, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
County Board’s APS Covid Concern — “Is the Arlington school system inadvertently encouraging parents to not report COVID-like symptoms among students? That’s the concern of a number of County Board members, who say the current testing requirements make it more likely parents will stay mum rather than go to the hassle of getting their children checked out.” [Sun Gazette]
Big Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Route 50 — From Dave Statter on Saturday night: “Some fuzzy traffic-cam video showing a vehicle fire that has all lanes of Route 50 eastbound shut prior to Pershing. @ArlingtonVaFD & @ArlingtonVaPD handling.” [Twitter]
Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey is quarantining in Germany after testing positive for COVID-19 while on a trip.
Garvey told ARLnow she’s doing relatively well, and feels mostly like she has a bad cold. She said she plans to keep up with Board work this week as much as she can.
Metro Delays Due to Safety Snafu — “Metro’s Chief Safety Officer reports that nearly half of Metro’s 500 rail operators have lapsed recertification… In consultation with the Board of Directors, Metro management is taking immediate corrective action to remove from service 72 train operators who became out of compliance prior to May 2021. This will result in a temporary reduction in Green and Yellow line service from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes due to an operator shortage.” [WMATA]
APS Changes Bell Schedules — “The School Board in Arlington, Virginia, voted to lengthen the school day by a little less than 10 minutes and to rearrange school start and end times in the first change to the county school system’s bell schedule in more than two decades. At its Thursday meeting, the board unanimously voted in favor of the adjustments.” [WTOP]
The latest wave of Covid cases in Arlington remains on the upswing.
As of this morning, the average daily case rate and test positivity rate both hit seasonal highs — 157 cases per day and 13.3%, respectively.
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Arlington remains on the upslope of what is increasingly looking like the pandemic’s fifth wave.
Thanks to high vaccination rates, this wave is locally more disruptive than deadly, but the county is starting to see a rise in Covid hospitalizations as well.
Covid levels are still steadily rising in Arlington.
While hospitalization levels remain low, the county is seeing continued spread of the virus. Today alone, 193 new cases were reported in Arlington — the highest one-day total since Jan. 29, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
Arlington saw a slight dip in Covid cases mid-month, during the Arlington Public Schools spring break, but cases are back on a relatively slow upward trajectory this week.
After the seven-day moving average broke the 100 daily case mark last week, that same figure stands at 110 cases per day today, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) The number of daily Covid cases in Arlington now stands at an average of just over 100 per day for the first time since February.
Arlington crossed the 100 daily case mark on Thursday, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The county remains in the CDC’s “Medium” Covid level due to the elevated case counts, though hospitalizations remain low — fewer than two per week per 100,000 in population, per the CDC.
Masks are now optional on Metro, on Amtrak and on many airlines.
The announcements were made last night after a judge struck down the federal transportation mask mandate. Some cheered the end of the mandates, while others urged travelers to remain masked regardless.
The CDC’s elevated “Community Level” for Arlington may not tell the full story, county health officials say.
Yesterday ARLnow reported that Arlington was the only jurisdiction in the immediate D.C. area to have risen to a “medium” Community Level, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While hospitalizations here remain relatively low, the county has been above 200 new cases per week per 100,000 residents for a few days, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, prompting the CDC’s designation.
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) Arlington is now the only jurisdiction in the immediate D.C. area to reach a “medium” level of Covid infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC’s “Community Level” map shows Arlington in yellow while the rest of the metro area is in green, with levels of infection and hospitalization considered to be low.
