City Of Alexandria Provides Coronavirus Updates; CDC Updates K-12 Guidance

Press release from the City of Alexandria:

July 9, 2021

Help end the pandemic by wearing a mask over both your nose and mouth, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated. Approximately 1 in 20 Alexandrians who have tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospitalization, so without these critical steps, additional lives may be at risk.

CDC Releases Updated K-12 Guidance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their "Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in Kindergarten (K)-12 Schools.” The guidance focuses on helping K-12 school administrators, along with state and local health officials, to safely support in-person learning, sports and other extracurricular activities. The Alexandria Health Department (AHD) continues to work closely with Alexandria public and private schools to provide guidance as schools implement the approaches recommended by the CDC.

Race and Ethnicity Updates to Vaccine Dashboard New Dashboard on COVID-19 Cases by Vaccination Status

The Virginia Department of Health "COVID-19 in Virginia” dashboards now include information on the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status. They also include data to track COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

“Vaccine breakthrough” means someone who is fully vaccinated develops COVID-19. Currently, more than 99% of COVID-19 cases in Virginia have occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines are free and widely available as both appointments and walk-in clinics. Find your shot online today.

Waterfront Street Closure for City Birthday Celebration Weekend

To provide additional space for pedestrians during the City Birthday celebration and prevent the spread of COVID-19, the unit block of King Street and portions of the 100 block of Strand Street will be temporarily closed to vehicles over the weekend. The closure began Friday afternoon and the street will be reopened on Monday morning. The 100 block of King Street remains closed to vehicle traffic through the end of 2021.

Alexandria COVID-19 Data At-a-Glance

The seven-day moving average chart below shows the number of COVID-19 cases and the daily and cumulative case and fatality counts, and provides detailed information about how preventive measures are impacting Alexandria's response to the pandemic. An interactive version is available at alexandriava.gov/114883. Vaccination charts include total doses administered across all facilities, the percentage of residents ages 12 and older who have been partially and fully vaccinated, and weekly doses administered. Vaccination charts are available with definitions and data source information at alexandriava.gov/120654. Detailed data, including data on age, race and ethnicity, are available through links at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus.

The vaccination chart uses the most recent vaccination data in the Virginia Department of Health's Virginia Immunization Information System database. Health care providers have up to 72 hours after vaccine administration to input information into the database. The chart may not reflect all administered vaccinations as of the report date. Doses administered by federal agencies or outside of Virginia are not reported to VIIS; and are not included in the dashboard. Therefore, the total number of residents vaccinated is likely an underestimate.The City of Alexandria has chosen to use “partially vaccinated” and “fully vaccinated” rather than “at least one dose” to avoid the double counting of residents who received the J&J vaccine.

Partially Vaccinated: Total number or percent of people who received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine course (i.e. the first dose of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine).

Fully Vaccinated: Total number or percent of people who have completed the recommended series of a given vaccine product (i.e., two doses of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or one dose of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID-19 vaccine).

Continue following measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 even after vaccination.

Get tested if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. If you test positive, help loved ones and neighbors by informing your close contacts using “What to Do If You Get Sick” guidance.

This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/123294.

This press release was produced by the City of Alexandria. The views expressed here are the author’s own.