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State COVID-19 cases continue to climb
The state saw 25,741 new COVID-19 cases and 240 more deaths last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Dec. 21 update. The current seven-day positivity rate is 11.4%, an increase from 10.9% a week ago. The increase comes as a COVID-19 model developed at the University of Virginia predicts an additional 402,000 people […]
Va. expects about 110,000 fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccine than previously announced
Virginia expects to receive 370,650 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna by the end of the year instead of 480,000 as previously announced, the Virginia Department of Health said Friday. Operation Warp Speed, the federal response for vaccinating millions of Americans, informed VDH late Thursday of the decrease in doses. Other […]
14K+ Virginians filed initial jobless claims last week
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week reached close to its Aug. 8 peak, with more than 14,000 Virginians filing initial unemployment claims, according to Virginia Employment Commission data released Thursday. The week prior, initial claims reached more than 16,000. While there was a 12.9% decrease in claims from the previous week, the […]
Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn St. stations to close during holidays
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Thursday that the Blue Line Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations will be closed for safety improvements from Dec. 19 through Jan. 3. “Doing this work during the holidays will help minimize the number of riders affected by the closures,” according to a WMATA statement. “Ridership at the […]
Northam proposes $240M for pandemic response
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise and frontline medical workers receive the first vaccine doses, Gov. Ralph Northam called on the General Assembly to allocate $240 million toward pandemic response in his proposed budget amendments released Wednesday. “The budget I present today preserves our focus on flexibility, targeted investments and help for Virginians. While we […]
Roanoke, local credit union launch small business relief fund
The city of Roanoke and Roanoke-based credit union Freedom First announced Tuesday a partnership that will disburse small business relief grants of up to $25,000 to those affected by the coronavirus. The $416,250 program will use Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) federal funding. The program is intended for businesses that are at risk of closing […]
Va. hospital systems begin receiving COVID vaccine shipments
Sentara Healthcare and Bon Secours Health System received portions of the state’s first shipment of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, and other health systems in the state are anticipating delivery later today or Tuesday. Vaccinations are expected to begin for health care workers by Wednesday, according to hospital officials. Virginia expects to receive 72,150 doses […]
PPP loans could make comeback in time for holidays
Congress could pass a third round of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program funding just in time for the holidays. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Monday introduced a $908 billion coronavirus relief bill, including an estimated $300 billion set aside for another round of PPP funding. In April, the first $349 […]
Va. COVID-19 rates climbing as vaccines are released
Virginia’s COVID-19 numbers continue to climb, with 26,279 more cases and 206 deaths recorded last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Dec. 14 update. The state has had 285,149 cases and 4,414 deaths in total as of Dec. 14. The seven-day average number of new daily cases is 3,754, with 44.1 new daily […]
Virginia leads nation in COVID-19 app use
Amid grim headlines related to the coronavirus, Virginia has one piece of bright news — the commonwealth leads the nation in the percentage of citizens who have downloaded a COVID-19 app to alert users about possible instances of exposure to the coronavirus. According to a Dec. 7 report from The New York Times, a higher […]
Governor orders nightly curfew to start Monday
Amid rising COVID-19 rates in the state, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday he is ordering a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew, as well as limiting gatherings to 10 people, starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday. The governor ordered that masks be worn at all times indoors around other people and at workplaces, as well as outdoors […]
Va. initial jobless claims nearly doubled last week
The number of initial jobless claims filed last week jumped 93.5% — its highest level since the Aug. 8 filing week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. For the week ending Dec. 5, 16,654 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, nearly a two-fold increase of 8,048 from the previous week. “While one week doesn’t constitute […]
