Masks significantly reduce the transmission of coronavirus, making their usage during the pandemic a public health priority.
To encourage wider use of masks, Arlington County is planning to give them away for free.
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Arlington Waiving Affordable Housing Loan Payments — “The Board approved allowing borrowers of County Multifamily Revolving Loan Funds the option of waiving their 2020 loan payments if they commit to using the money to address rent and vacancy losses and emergency needs that are associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Arlington County]
County Delaying Purchase of Property Near Shirlington — “In order to keep their options open, the Arlington County Board will make another $175,000 payment to hold open the possibility of acquiring two parcels adjacent to the Arlington Cultural Affairs facility in the Four Mile Run corridor.” [InsideNova]
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Masks Required on Metro Starting Today — “Face coverings or masks be required when traveling on Metro effective Monday, May 18. The move strengthens Metro’s position on the matter, which has ‘strongly recommended’ the use of face coverings since early April.” [WMATA]
ACPD Officer Lends a Hand — Despite the challenges facing emergency responders during the pandemic, an Arlington County police officer helped a pair of residents with some heavy lifting for a DIY project in their yard over the weekend. [@dmvbbacademy/Twitter]
County Scaling Down Capital Improvement Plan — “As the County continues to experience the economic impacts of COVID-19, County Manager Mark Schwartz intends to present the Arlington County Board with a short-term proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) rather than the traditional 10-year plan.” [Arlington County]
Metro May Require Masks — “Metro riders may not see service fully restored until spring 2021, but the WMATA is now making plans to gradually get trains and buses running more frequently. News4’s Adam Tuss has learned that officials are considering requiring all riders to wear face masks on buses and trains and applying social distancing measures.” [NBC 4]
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In an online town hall meeting on Friday, County Board members decried the plan to partially reopen Virginia as premature for Arlington and discussed further restrictions, like a requirement to wear a mask when in public.
“If we consider the closing of bars and restaurants, if just one locality were to loosen restrictions and allow bars to reopen before other jurisdictions,” County Board member Christian Dorsey warned, “those establishments would become magnets for patrons who could access them, which is very easy with our limited regional geography and great connectivity in the transportation network. This could result in spread across many jurisdictions and make it more difficult for public health officials to do the necessary testing and tracing to control outbreaks.”
Small Biz Grant Application Now Open — “The Arlington Small Business Emergency GRANT (Giving Resiliency Assets Near Term) Program, designed to provide immediate financial assistance to Arlington’s small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now open for applications.” [Arlington County]
Why Your Pizza Is Not Going Ham — The national meat shortage has led Domino’s Pizza to cut down on the availability of some toppings, including in Arlington. “Due to the current uncertainty in the market for meats, we are limiting the amount of ham we are delivering to our stores,” the company told one local resident. [@craigcolgan/Twitter]
Social Distancing Decline in Arlington? — “On April 20 in Arlington County, Va., nearly half of cellphones that SafeGraph provided data for were staying at home. Over the next couple days in that suburb of Washington, D.C., the number declined to one-third — as low as it was during the middle of March. It has since increased but is still down from its peak.” [NPR]
Masks Now Required at Costco — “Costco has announced new guidelines for its stores and is requiring all customers — age 3 and older — to wear masks before entering stores beginning Monday, May 4.” [MSN]
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This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
(Updated 04/13/2020) Utilizing existing resources and equipment from another program, for the last week Arlington Arts has been sewing masks to be distributed through Arlington County Department of Human Services and the Arlington County Police.
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Before you ask: no, Bill’s True Value Hardware (2213 N. Buchanan Street) does not have any face masks.
Every day, Mark Ploskina — son of owner William Ploskina — says he gets around 100 to 200 calls with people asking whether or not he has masks. He gets one of those calls in the middle of an interview about the number of calls.
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There are more than 250 known coronavirus cases in Arlington.
The county has 254 reported cases, according to Wednesday’s data from the Virginia Dept. of Health. That gives Arlington the second-highest per-capita rate of infections in the state (107.24 per 100,000 people), and the highest per-capita rate in Northern Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Arlington has confirmed another 34 COVID-19 cases since Monday, the county’s second-largest increase in cases since the outbreak began.
There are now 237 known coronavirus cases in Arlington, up from 104 cases a week ago.
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Virginia Hospital Center has received a sizable donation of surgical masks and gowns amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.
Arlington-based Marymount University donated 550 surgical masks, 110 isolation gowns, 60 full-body suits and seven reusable goggles from its Department of Nursing, the school tells ARLnow.