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Virginia restaurants face new challenges at brink of full reopening

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia restaurants will soon be able to host more patrons, but establishments may not be able to accommodate more guests due to a shortage in workers.

Restaurants and drinking establishments will be able to seat up to 100 patrons indoors and a maximum of 250 guests outdoors starting May 15, Gov. Ralph Northam recently announced.

Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, estimated around 100 Richmond restaurants closed last year, but said there have been minimal closures this year. Many restaurants are likely nearing 80% of their pre-pandemic revenue levels, according to Terry.

While full recovery for the industry is underway, Terry said the biggest revenue factor for restaurants is a restricted labor force.

“I was on the phone yesterday with two restaurant operators who said they are having to close two days a week because they can’t get enough staff,” Terry said.

The new limit will double the number of indoor guests allowed as of April 1. Restaurants may return to selling alcohol past midnight and dining room closures between midnight and 5 a.m. will no longer be required.

Northam announced last week that all restrictions will be lifted on June 15 if the number of new COVID-19 cases remains low and COVID-19 vaccinations rise. On Monday, the state reported the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in a year.

“I’m optimistic that we will be able to take more steps in June,” Northam recently said.

However, if seating capacity is extended fully in June, restaurants with limited staff will not be able to accommodate that many people, Terry said.

“Unless we can get more folks to come back to work, it’s going to be tough,” Terry said. “The extended unemployment, child care issues and other things have made it very difficult to get people back into the industry.”

Michael Nelson, manager of The Sidewalk Cafe in Richmond, said restaurants around the city struggled to find enough workers after losing valuable staff. Bartenders, cooks and others moved away from the industry and changed professions when the pandemic hit, Nelson said.

The Virginia accommodation and food services industry lost almost 60,000 workers from March 2020 to March 2021, according to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission (a 17% job loss). The figures are seasonally adjusted, meaning they account for seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.

Northam’s executive orders closed indoor dining areas in 2020 from late March to at least early June, though Richmond and Northern Virginia waited an additional two weeks before moving into phase two. Many restaurants voluntarily closed for extended periods.

“Even when the governor says you’re able to have full capacity, I can see a lot of restaurants not going back to that because they just don’t have the staff,” Nelson said.

Jeremy Barber, owner of three Alexandria-based restaurants, said that while staffing challenges are temporary, restaurants may hesitate to fully open indoor seating.

“I think that people are still going to be more comfortable dining outside,” Barber said. “Even people that I’ve talked to that are vaccinated and have eaten in restaurants still say they have an eerie feeling when they are dining indoors.”

Barber believes it will take time for the restaurant industry to fully recover.

“Restaurateurs as well as guests need to work together to adapt to the new dining out,” Barber said. “It’ll be a true sign at the end of the summer to see how things are really progressing.”

More than 35% of Virginians are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Over 47% the state’s population has received at least one dose.

More than 6.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the state, according to VDH.

“I hope that we’re on the brink of getting over this thing,” Barber said. “But I think as a business owner, it’s our responsibility to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

Virginia awaiting CDC approval before vaccinating kids ages 12-15

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded its emergency use authorization of the Pfizer Inc. COVID-19 vaccine to include children ages 12 and older, Virginia will wait for action from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before administering shots to adolescents, state vaccination coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said Monday night.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to meet Wednesday and make a recommendation to the CDC on expanding use of the vaccine, which is currently limited to people age 16 and older. ”

“While this is an exciting first step toward offering this vaccine and its protection to more than 400,000 Virginians, we must await additional federal approval before doing so,” Avula said in a statement. “Virginia would not begin offering the vaccine to those 12 and older until the CDC approves doing so.”

Avula said that the state has already begun working with school systems, local health districts, pediatricians and pharmacies to plan for the expansion, which has been in the works for several weeks, following successful testing of adolescents.

As of Monday, 4,019,296 people in Virginia, or 47.1% of the population, have received at least one vaccine dose, and 3,000,047, 35.1% of the state, are fully vaccinated, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The state has recorded 666,986 COVID cases and 10,902 since March 2020, and the current seven-day positivity rate is 4.3%. In recent weeks, spread of the virus has declined, and Gov. Ralph Northam has announced some lifting of restrictions in May and June if conditions remain favorable.

Va. sees 67% drop in weekly jobless claims

The state’s number of initial unemployment claims continues to fluctuate wildly, with only 12,231 Virginians submitting new jobless claims for the week ending May 1, a drop of 25,125 claims from the previous week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the April 26-May 1 filing week, the state saw a 67.2% decline in new claims, after a 171.6% week-over-week increase reported for the April 19-24 filing week. A year ago, 59,631 Virginians filed initial claims, 79.4% higher than last week.

Continued claims remained much steadier, with 55,195 filed last week, an increase of 914 from the previous week. A year ago, however, 376,689 people filed continued claims, 85.3% higher than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade and health care and social assistance industries, according to the VEC.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Meanwhile, the VEC received a brief extension this week to respond to a federal class-action lawsuit filed in February by Virginians complaining of long delays in processing unemployment claims. Although the agency asked for three weeks of extra time, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson granted only four days. Also, some state legislators have said they wish to see a study on VEC’s delays by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission expedited, saying the matter deserves more urgency than a November report.

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 1:

  • Fairfax County, 731
  • Prince William County, 532
  • Norfolk, 514
  • Richmond, 508
  • Virginia Beach, 491
  • Newport News, 316
  • Alexandria, 310
  • Loudoun County, 302
  • Chesapeake, 295
  • Henrico County, 275

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 498,000, a decrease of 92,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 2,793,245 initial claims during the same week last year.

Northam: Many restrictions likely to be lifted June 15

Virginia will relax most COVID-19 mitigation measures by June 15 if vaccination numbers continue to increase and spread of the virus continues to decrease, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday, but lifting the face mask mandate will likely take longer.

“We will continue to evaluate our mask guidance,” the governor added, but social distancing requirements and caps on attendance will be lifted as long as COVID trends continue to remain on a positive trajectory in the state. Northam also encouraged more Virginians to get vaccinated, noting that 60% of residents age 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, and federal authorities are expected to approve the use of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine for people ages 12 and older as soon as next week.

Meanwhile, the state has recorded fewer than 1,000 new COVID cases per day over the past two weeks, as well as declines in hospitalizations and deaths.

“The vaccines are working,” Northam said. “They’re helping reduce the spread of the disease.”

According to a survey by Virginia Commonwealth University, 66% of parents polled said they plan to get their adolescent children vaccinated as soon as doses are available for younger people, and many also would vaccinate their children younger than 12 when they are eligible, Northam said.

At this point, the state is expanding how it delivers vaccine doses, including the introduction of mobile vaccine units next week, making it easier for people without reliable transportation to get vaccinated. There are several reasons people may not have gotten vaccinated yet, Northam said, ranging from those who don’t know they’re eligible to others who are nervous about receiving a newly developed vaccine.

“We’re going to keep reaching out to all of these folks,” Northam said, adding that since he came down with the coronavirus late last year, “seven months later, I still can’t smell or taste anything.” He noted that the virus is an “unpredictable disease” and that Virginia residents should get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Northam said he’s hopeful that the state will meet a new goal set by President Joe Biden to administer at least one vaccine dose to 70% of all Americans 16 and older by July 4.

AMPAC expanding Petersburg operation, adding 156 jobs

AMPAC Fine Chemicals plans to grow its Petersburg manufacturing facility, investing $25 million and creating 156 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday.

AMPAC manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and is a partner with Richmond-based Phlow Corp., Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All Institute and nonprofit drugmaker Civica Inc., on a federally funded, $354 million contract to reduce America’s dependence on foreign supply chains and produce domestic production sources for medications and pharmaceutical ingredients at risk of shortages, including treatments for COVID-19.

Phlow was awarded the four-year contract by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in May 2020. This January, Utah-based Civica Inc. announced it would establish its North American manufacturing operation in Petersburg, investing $124.5 million to establish a new facility next to Phlow’s future operation and AMPAC’s existing facility. With Tuesday’s announcement, AMPAC will expand its current plant, where it moved in 2019. Civica’s plant will convert active pharmaceutical ingredients produced by AMPAC and Phlow into vials and syringes to be used in hospitals.

“AMPAC’s investment will further advance the pharmaceutical cluster that has emerged in Petersburg and solidify our commonwealth as a significant player in domestic drug manufacturing,” Northam said in a statement. “This critical partnership between Phlow Corp., Medicines for All Institute, Civica Inc. and AMPAC will have a positive and far-reaching impact, ensuring greater access to high-quality, lifesaving medications while also creating much-needed jobs to support our economic recovery in Virginia.”

AMPAC was founded in 1945 and currently employs 109 people in Virginia, which competed for the project against California and Texas, where AMPAC has two other operations.

“Of our three AMPAC locations, Virginia offers an enabling environment for developing and sustaining the growth in capacity and infrastructure demanded for the pharmaceutical industry,” William DuBay, AMPAC global vice president of research and development, said in a statement. “Our growing relationship with the commonwealth, [the Virginia Economic Development Partnership], the city of Petersburg and others, including VCU, Phlow and Civica, is a cornerstone of our vision for American-based manufacturing of critical pharmaceutical ingredients.”

VEDP worked with the city of Petersburg, Virginia’s Gateway Region, the Community College Workforce Alliance and Dominion Energy Inc. to secure the project, and Northam approved a $640,000 opportunity fund grant and a $250,000 Virginia Investment Performance grant. VEDP’s Virginia Talent Accelerator Program will provide training and recruitment to AMPAC at no cost to the company.

Reston-based Maximus gets $951M contract for national COVID hotline

Reston-based government services company Maximus has received a potential $951 million contract to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 national surge support and vaccine assistance hotline.

In the early months of the pandemic, Maximus staffed a 500-person CDC call center to respond to call and emails from health care providers and the public. The company also operates a contact center supporting users of the CDC’s Vaccine Tracking System.

Maximus has also operated state COVID-19 hotlines in California, New York and Indiana, as well as providing contact tracing services for programs in five states.

With more than 30,000 employees worldwide and $3.46 billion in 2020 revenues, Maximus promotes itself as the nation’s largest Medicaid enrollment administrator. The company was founded in 1975 and provides business process management and technology services.

 

COVID roundup: Northern Va. could reach herd immunity by June/July

According to the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute, estimated rates of “vaccine acceptance” — residents’ willingness to be vaccinated — differ regionally and could delay herd immunity in some parts of the state. The U.Va. report, released April 30, shows that an estimated 88% of Northern Virginia adults are willing to be vaccinated, but Eastern Virginia has an approximate acceptance rate of only 43%, the lowest in the state.

“In this model, Northern Virginia could reach community immunity in June or July,” the report says. “Other regions may not reach it this year.” Central Virginia is just below 70%, followed by Northwest, far Southwest and near Southwest regions, which range between 45% and 56%.

Virginia is now seeing less demand for COVID-19 vaccines than in previous weeks as shots have become more accessible. State vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula said Friday that 57% of all eligible Virginia residents age 16 and older have received at least one dose.

At this point, there are more opportunities for walk-up vaccination without an appointment, and more primary care providers will start receiving shipments of Pfizer Inc. vaccines so Virginians can get vaccinated at their doctors’ offices, Avula added in a Friday press call. There will now be more focus on convincing younger people — ages 16 to mid-30s — to get vaccinated, because the state is still aiming for 75% vaccination, the approximate benchmark for herd immunity, Avula said. “Convenience is such an important piece now.”

As for younger Virginians, it’s likely that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will approve Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children ages 12 and older sometime in May, and Virginia expects to engage school systems to start in-school vaccination clinics in the final weeks of the academic year, Avula said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week a partial rollback of the state’s mask mandate, although he didn’t go as far as other governors who have completely called off face-covering restrictions, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Following CDC recommendations, vaccinated Virginians are now able to gather in small groups outdoors without wearing masks, but they still need to wear them indoors and at large, crowded events outside, such as sporting events and graduations. Up to 1,000 people also are now allowed to attend outdoor recreational sporting events, a change that will let more people see high school conference games in person this spring.

Vaccination in Va.

As of Monday, 45.1% of all Virginians have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 32% are fully vaccinated, according to the Virginia Department of Health. And after a nearly two-week nationwide pause, state health care providers are now administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines again. Avula said Friday that he did not know yet if Virginians are shunning the one-dose vaccine, which was paused for investigation when six women had blood clots after receiving the vaccine, including a Virginia woman who died.

Statewide, 3,849,303 people have received at least one dose, while 2,727,811 people are fully vaccinated as of Monday, and the state is administering 69,526 doses per day. Avula said he believes the state’s vaccine demand has now peaked, and VDH’s focus will now shift toward making shots easier to get without advance appointments. People who missed their second shot appointments also may hear from the state’s VDH call center, he added.

All adult residents of Virginia can now find vaccination locations at vaccinate.virginia.gov or by calling (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682.

Statewide spread

Over the past week, the state recorded 6,996 new COVID-19 cases, a decrease from the previous week, which saw 7,818 cases, and 101 people died last week of virus-related causes, VDH reported. The previous week, there were 111 COVID fatalities. As of Monday, the state has reported 661,925 total cases and 10,807 deaths, and the current seven-day positivity rate is 4.6%, down 0.8% from last week.

The state now ranks 16th in the nation for percentage of vaccine doses administered, according to CDC data analyzed by Becker’s Hospital Review.

According to U.Va.’s COVID-19 model, the state expects new virus variants to drive a summer peak of 45,413 cases in the week ending July 25.

As of April 28, the Alleghany and Rappahannock health districts are seeing a surge in cases, defined as “sustained rapid growth and exceeds recent inflection points.” Districts experiencing slow growth include Central Shenandoah and Piedmont. As of April 29, Portsmouth has a seven-day positivity rate of 11%, up from 8.6% on April 22. The rest of the state’s health districts now have rates below 10%.

State demographics

With race and ethnicity information available for only 58.4% of people who have received shots in the state, the majority of shots have been received by white, non-Hispanic people — 62.4% as of Monday, according to VDH. Black Virginians have received 14.1% of shots, although they make up 19.9% of the state’s population, according to 2019 estimates by the U.S. Census;  11.4% of vaccines were given to Latino residents, who comprise about 9.8% of Virginians.

State health officials have focused attention on equitable administration of vaccinations, especially as Latino and Black residents are heavily represented among people who have been infected, hospitalized and died from the coronavirus. Among Virginia’s COVID deaths for which ethnicity and race were recorded, 24.9% were Black, and 6.4% were Latino.

National and global news

Globally, there are 152.9 million reported COVID-19 cases and 3,205,000 confirmed deaths, as of May 3. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 32.4 million confirmed cases so far, with 577,055 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February 2020. According to the CDC, 147 million U.S. residents have received at least one vaccine dose, or 44.3% of the nation’s population, and 104.7 million people, or 31.6% of the U.S. population, are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, India continues to experience surges in new cases, with more than 300,000 cases per day over the past six days and an overall death toll of 198,000, although that number may be low, The New York Times reports. The U.S. government has pledged to send up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to other nations, as well as raw material for coronavirus vaccines. The U.S. and other countries have restricted travel from India to prevent spread.

 

Virginia public colleges can mandate COVID vaccines, Va. AG says

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia colleges are beginning to announce mandatory fall COVID-19 vaccine policies following the state attorney general’s opinion that higher education institutes can require the vaccine.

Virginia public colleges and universities can mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for faculty and students returning to campus this fall, Attorney General Mark Herring stated in late April.

“Virginia’s college and university students deserve the chance to go to classes in-person and take advantage of all that their schools have to offer, but over the past year we have seen numerous COVID outbreaks on school campuses, so we must make sure that they are doing so with the health and safety of their peers and communities in mind,” Herring stated.

School leaders questioned the legality of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine because the vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use. That means people must be given the choice to take it and be informed of the consequences if they don’t, Lisa Lee, professor of public health at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, told Capital News Service before Herring issued his statement.

Currently, Virginia colleges request documentation that a student was vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles and mumps.

At least three Virginia-based private universities will require the vaccine for students and employees returning to campus in the fall. Hampton, Mary Baldwin, and Virginia Wesleyan universities updated their policies mandating the vaccine. Hampton made its decision weeks before the attorney general issued the opinion.

Michael Porter, a spokesperson for Richmond-based Virginia Commonwealth University, stated in an email that VCU still does not require the COVID-19 vaccine for returning students. The university is “reviewing the Attorney General’s guidance” as it plans for the upcoming semester.

The University of Virginia in Charlottesville recently released a statement acknowledging Herring’s opinion but has not yet updated its policy.

Virginia Tech is still deliberating whether to require the COVID-19 vaccine, university spokesperson Mark Owczarski stated in an email. Once a decision is made, the university will communicate it to students and staff.

The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg recently told students and staff to expect an update on mandatory vaccination in mid-May. The college encouraged students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated if possible.

George Mason University in Fairfax is considering whether to require the vaccine, the university said in a mid-April statement posted before Herring’s announcement. Mason encouraged students to get the vaccine and ask their health care provider if they had questions.

Bri Bittenbender, a criminal justice major at VCU, said Virginia schools need to enforce the COVID-19 vaccine if things are ever going to return to normal.

“I think it could provide a level of safety for students going back to in-person classes,” she said. “But if the schools don’t enforce it, then we’re stuck where we are now.”

Bittenbender is not alone, as many college students across Virginia feel the same way. Isabella Chalfant, a William & Mary student majoring in environmental law and art history, said that aversion to the vaccine from a political standpoint is “imbecilic.”

“The most important thing about the vaccine is being able to protect the people you love,” she said. “When I finally got the email to make my appointment, I cried because it meant that I didn’t have to be scared to live my life anymore.”

Chalfant said she prioritized the vaccine to protect her mother who is considered high risk.

“I can also protect my family, because my mom has underlying conditions,” she said. “It is extremely important for me and for my family to protect her.”

While there are many college students across Virginia who support requiring the vaccine, there are others who are uncertain. Kaitlyn Whitehead, a health sciences major at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, said giving colleges leeway to make the vaccine mandatory is “not a positive thing.”

“I believe that, just like anything else, that there should be a choice,” she said.

Whitehead said that since the flu vaccine isn’t mandated at Virginia colleges, then the COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be either. She said the flu and COVID-19 both kill many people, but only the latter vaccine is being mandated.

It’s also too early to tell if the vaccine is effective, Whitehead said. Initial trials have found all COVID-19 vaccines are effective to varying degrees, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Emily Porter, a student majoring in media studies and Chinese at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said there is support for the vaccine among U.Va. students, but some students oppose it.

“The student population is largely liberal, though I would say there are contrarians and conservatives who might have an issue,” she said. “As a proportion of the student population, the latter is much less. I would also guess that the majority of the faculty and staff would also be in support of it.”

Emily Porter supports the vaccine and believes it to be a “wonderful feat of science.”

“There will definitely have to be some developments, especially with the new strains and everything like that,” she said. “But overall, I think it’s incredible, and I had no problem getting it.”

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

Northam partly rolls back Va. mask mandate

Virginians will still need to wear masks indoors and at large, crowded events outside, but Gov. Ralph Northam amended his executive order Thursday to allow fully vaccinated people — meaning those who received their final COVID-19 vaccine dose at least two weeks earlier — to remove their masks outdoors in small gatherings, following new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“The CDC’s recommendations underscore what we have said all along — vaccinations are the way we will put this pandemic behind us and get back to normal life,” Northam said in a statement. “Our increasing vaccination rate and decreasing number of new COVID-19 cases has made it possible to ease mitigation measures in a thoughtful and measured manner. I encourage all Virginians who have not yet received the vaccine to make an appointment today.”

Northam’s mask mandate — first affecting all Virginians ages 10 and older, and then lowered to age 5 — was put in place in late May 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19, following the CDC’s recommendation.

With Thursday’s change, mask use is still required indoors and at crowded events like concerts, sporting events and graduation ceremonies, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Northam, who previously announced some lifted restrictions beginning May 15, moved up one change to go into effect immediately, allowing up to 1,000 people to attend outdoor recreational sporting events. The news release said that Northam expects further rollbacks by mid-June, as long as health metrics and vaccination continue to progress positively.

Virginia’s and other states’ masking policies, which quickly became politicized as then-President Donald Trump and other Republicans chafed at being required to wear face coverings, heavily influenced life across the nation over the past year. Some businesses in Virginia were shut down after repeatedly violating the mandate, and Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase was forced to sit in a Plexiglass cubicle during state Senate sessions because she refused to wear a mask. However, health officials and Northam have attributed Virginia’s relatively low COVID rates compared to other states to its mask mandate and other safety precautions.

Although some governors have completely rescinded masking mandates in recent weeks, others have taken more cautious approaches. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, declared this week that Marylanders did not need to wear masks outdoors except for in large ticketed venues and on public transit, a similar policy to Northam — who has frequently collaborated with Hogan and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on COVID-19 policies. Bowser also released new mask guidance Thursday, allowing vaccinated people to shed face coverings for small indoor private gatherings, and vaccinated people can socialize with unvaccinated people outdoors, although unvaccinated people should still wear a mask, the D.C. health department advises.

As of Thursday, 3.7 million Virginians — 43.9% of the population — are vaccinated with at least one dose, and 29.9% of the state, or 2.5 million people, are fully vaccinated. Shots are available for anyone age 16 or older. Although there are walk-in appointments available in some regions of the state, many clinics are still requiring advance appointments.

All adult residents of Virginia can now register to get vaccinated at vaccinate.virginia.gov or call (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682.

Va. new jobless claims up 171%

For the April 19-24 filing week, 37,356 Virginians submitted initial unemployment claims, a 171.6% increase from the previous week, but a 48.4% decrease from this time a year ago, when jobless claims were near a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Virginia Employment Commission reports that last week’s number of initial claims has reverted to earlier months’ trend after seeing lower volumes in previous weeks.

Last week’s new claims rose by 23,605 compared with those from the week ending April 17, when 13,751 people filed, according to the VEC’s Thursday report. This week a year ago, 72,488 people filed initial claims in Virginia.

The number of continued claims filed last week — 54,281 — dropped by 992 from the previous week. This week a year ago, 341,295 continued claims were filed, 84% higher than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade and health care and social assistance industries, according to the VEC.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending April 24:

  • Richmond, 2,051
  • Prince William County, 1,845
  • Norfolk, 1,774
  • Fairfax County, 1,672
  • Virginia Beach, 1,538
  • Alexandria, 1,498
  • Portsmouth, 1,400
  • Fredericksburg, 989
  • Roanoke, 913
  • Newport News, 749

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 553,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 3,468,261 initial claims during the same week last year.