The East Falls Church and Arlington Cemetery Metro stations are scheduled to reopen this weekend, WMATA says.
The transit agency announced that its planned outdoor platform reconstruction work along the Orange Line is “well ahead of schedule,” allowing East Falls Church and other stations to return to service.
It has been nine days since Arlington County last recorded a COVID-related hospitalization, and more than two weeks since the last reported death, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
The data does not tell the story of those with significant illnesses that do not require hospital stays, nor does it say anything about the virus’ potentially serious short- and long-term complications. It does, however, point to a pandemic that is still infecting people locally but without the lethality that was evident earlier this year.
In a hastily called meeting before their traditional August break, the Arlington County Board passed an emergency ordinance that prevents groups of four or more from standing closer than six feet to each other in marked public spaces. There was no public discussion or input prior to the surprise announcement.
Under the ordinance, my family could not wait at a traffic light together even if we are wearing face coverings, without the risk of a $600 fine. However, we could walk into a restaurant and sit together without face coverings. Fellow columnist Chris Slatt rightly called it a mess.
After being closed for months, Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike) is planning to reopen this weekend, but with restrictions.
Owner Tim Clark said this week’s reopening is a test drive to gauge public interest in attending the entertainment venue while the rate of coronavirus cases is still going up.
On Friday, the County announced a new emergency ordinance prohibiting pedestrians from congregating on sidewalks in groups of more than three people or ever being less than 6′ apart from any other person.
Targeted quite plainly at young, mask-less patrons waiting in tightly-packed lines for long periods of time outside of Clarendon bars whose capacity has been limited by social-distancing requirements, the ordinance seems well-intentioned but flawed in concept.
As health officials work to tamp down rising COVID-19 cases in Arlington, the Arlington Sun Gazette published a letter to the editor today comparing local public health efforts to Nazi Germany.
The letter, headlined “Arlington now pitting neighbor against neighbor,” seemingly conflates contact tracing efforts — long used to try to prevent the spread of infectious disease — with “tattling.”
Arlington is now just three shy of 3,000 coronavirus cases, as the rate of new cases continues to climb.
The county added 24 new cases overnight, bringing the cumulative total to 2,997. The number of new cases has been above the seven-day moving average — which now stands at 20 cases per day, or 140 per week, the highest point since June 11 — five out of the past six days.
(Updated at 8:20 p.m.) The chairman of the Arlington GOP has been booted from the “Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19” Facebook group for threatening to expose those who file complaints about local businesses.
In a post on Sunday, one of the group’s moderators said that Andrew Loposser posted screenshots showing the names and contact information of people who filed complaints about COVID-related violations in Virginia. He also threatened to reveal information others who complain.
Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com
On July 14th, APS chose the best of a bad series of options by deciding to reopen schools 100% virtually.
(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) Arlington is averaging just over a dozen new coronavirus cases per day over the past week, a relatively low number, but one set against the backdrop of rising cases in other parts of the state.
The county’s seven-day moving average ticked up this morning, with 16 new cases reported overnight by the Virginia Dept. of Health. Arlington’s test positivity rate, however, is pointing down: it’s now 3.9%, as the seven-day moving average of daily tests climbs to 376.
A 2-3 week rise in new coronavirus cases in Arlington appears to be abating, for now.
The county’s seven-day trailing rate of new cases is back down into the double digits for the first time in a week. It now stands at 90, after topping out at 129 on Saturday — two weeks after the Fourth of July.
The Starbucks at Penrose Square is closed due to an employee testing positive for coronavirus.
The coffee shop at 2413 Columbia Pike closed over the weekend and is not expected to reopen until Wednesday, a Starbucks representative confirmed Monday afternoon.
