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Va. COVID-19 rate creeps up to 5%
The state’s COVID-19 positivity rate increased last week to 5%, up from 4.5% on Oct. 12. According to the Virginia Department of Health, the state recorded 7,258 new cases and 96 more coronavirus-related deaths over the past week. Virginia has 166,828 total COVID cases since the pandemic started, as well as 3,457 deaths, as of […]
Northam directs $73M to home health care worker hazard pay
Home health care workers who served elderly people or those suffering from disabilities during the early months of the pandemic will receive a one-time $1,500 hazard payment from the state government, Gov. Northam announced Thursday. Northam announced $73 million in federal CARES Act funding would be disbursed among an estimated 43,500 home health care workers […]
Va. saw initial jobless claims drop again last week
Virginia continued to see a small decline in the number of initial jobless claims last week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday, and the number of continued claims filed during the week ending Oct. 10 was nearly two thirds lower than its May 16 peak. For the week ending Oct. 10, 9,110 Virginians filed initial […]
Va. tourism had record 2019, but 2020 won’t follow suit
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis is spelling an end to Virginia’s decade-long streak of record-breaking tourism revenues. Although Virginia’s tourism industry had another record year in 2019, posting $27 billion in spending, the commonwealth’s tourism revenue for 2020 is expected to decrease by $10 billion, a 37% drop compared to last year, according […]
Va. hotel revenues continue to suffer
Virginia hotels continue to see significant revenue declines compared to pre-pandemic times, according to data from STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. For the week of Oct. 4 through Oct. 10, hotel revenues in Virginia were down 46% and rooms sold were down 29% compared […]
Va. Supreme Court denies Roanoke courts’ plan to resume jury trials
The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected a plan by Roanoke Valley’s courts to resume jury trials during the pandemic. Chief Judge David Carson of the 23rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia, which includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem courts, said during an Oct. 13 Roanoke Bar Association Meeting that the Virginia Supreme Court rejected the proposal […]
UPDATED: Va. voter registration extended through Thursday at midnight
Updated, 9:45 a.m. Oct. 14 A federal judge granted a two-day extension for Virginians to register to vote Wednesday, ruling that the Virginia Department of Elections must allow registration to continue through 11:59 p.m. Thursday. On Tuesday morning, the original deadline for Virginians to register to vote, a road crew in Chesterfield County accidentally cut […]
Delegate plans to reintroduce quarantine pay bill next session
RICHMOND, Va. — Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, D-Woodbridge, said she is no stranger to the struggles of low-paying jobs. Guzmán said she immigrated to the United States from Peru as a single mother and worked multiple minimum wage jobs just to be able to pay rent and care for her daughter. Guzmán has a mission to […]
VCU study: Labor market continues slow recovery
The labor market continued to recover during the week ending Oct. 3, but at a slower pace than the start of the recovery, according to a report released Tuesday from economists at Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University. “The latest results show that, since April, employment has recovered two-thirds of the way back to […]
VCU study: COVID-19 accounted for 67% of March-Aug. U.S. deaths
For every two deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S., a third American dies as a result of the pandemic, according to a study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study shows that deaths between March 1 and Aug. 1 increased by 20% when compared […]
Va. continues COVID-19 case decline
Virginia saw an increase of 7,013 COVID-19 cases last week, as well as 85 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Oct. 12 update. The state’s positivity rate, 4.5%, decreased by 0.3% since Oct. 5. The state has reported 159,570 total cases and 3,361 fatalities since the pandemic began. Only one health district statewide […]
Va. weekly initial jobless claims increase by 15%
The number of weekly initial jobless claims in Virginia increased by 15% last week, but the number of weekly continuing unemployment claims dropped by 7.5%, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. For the week ending Oct. 3, 10,843 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, up from 9,377 the previous week. Last week, 160,764 Virginians filed […]
