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Legislators reunite for surreal reconvened session
In a strange and often surreal day during which the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates fainted at her podium and a state senator voted from inside a Plexiglas cubicle, state lawmakers reconvened for a pandemic-era veto session Wednesday in Richmond. Instead of meeting in their typical chambers in the Virginia State Capit[...]
Loudoun County announces $1M small-business relief fund
UPDATED FRIDAY, APRIL 24: The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors allocated an additional $250,000 to its existing $1 million COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund on Thursday, aimed at helping small businesses in the county that have been harmed by the COVID-19 crisis. The board allocated an extra $105,000 for businesses with 3-50 employees, $110,000 for businesses […]
Virginia’s COVID-19 testing capacity is improving, Northam says
With more tests becoming available and faster turnaround for results, Virginia expects to soon be able to test more people — including those with lower-grade symptoms — for COVID-19, Gov. Ralph Northam said in his Monday news conference. State, hospital and private labs are testing between 2,000 and 3,000 people per day, sai[...]
Va. COVID-19 cases rise past 8,000
Update, Sunday, April 19: The Virginia Department of Health reported 8,537 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide Sunday, a jump of 484 since Saturday. Also, there are now 277 deaths and 1,422 people hospitalized in the 9 a.m. update, as well as 54,733 people who have been tested in Virginia. According to the Johns Hopkins University statistics available […]
Virginia is ‘pivoting away’ from field hospitals
Virginia is “pivoting away” from needing field hospitals to handle patient overflow because health systems believe they’ll be able to manage any surge in COVID-19 cases, said Dr. Danny Avula, the director of Richmond and Henrico County’s health departments, Friday evening. “We have not seen any significant increase in [...]
Roanoke County laying off 287 part-time workers
Roanoke County announced Friday it will lay off 287 part-time employees, many of whom work in the parks and recreation department. The layoff will start April 24 and “is intended to be temporary, pending future economic conditions,” according to a news release. The cuts affect 232 parks and recreation workers, 50 in public libraries and […]
Northam issues order to expand state health care workforce
With an estimated 30,000 medical workers needed in the event of a surge of COVID-19 cases in Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam has issued an executive order aimed at making it easier for nurse practitioners, fourth-year medical students, residents, interns and out-of-state doctors to assist hospitals and long-term care facilities wit[...]
VMFA furloughs 221 part-time staffers, effective April 26
In an email to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts members, Director and CEO Alex Nyerges said Friday that all part-time wage staff members who are “not performing mission-critical services” will be furloughed, effective April 26. The furlough will affect 221 people, a spokesperson said. This will give the employees an oppo[...]
Virginia breaks record, reporting 602 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
Virginia has seen its largest one-day increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases — 602 more since Thursday, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s update Friday, April 17. The state has 7,491 cases. The previous one-day record, set on Saturday, was 568. The health department also reported 231 deaths, 1,221 hospitalizations and 48,997 people tested for […]
Fairfax County establishes $2.5M small business loan fund
Fairfax County announced Thursday that it has established the Fairfax County Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Fund — a $2.5 million fund to support small businesses that have suffered economic hardship during the pandemic. The recovery fund will make no-interest loans of up to $20,000 to eligible businesses. In order to apply, the small business must […]
More than 100k Virginians filed for unemployment last week
More than 100,000 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment last week, according to a news release Thursday afternoon from the Virginia Unemployment Commission. During the week that ended on April 11, Virginia saw 104,619 workers file for unemployment, bringing the most recent four-week total to 410,762. If 67,000 more Vi[...]
SBA Paycheck Protection Program runs dry, as expected
The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief fund officially ran dry Thursday morning, as expected. “The SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding,” according to the SBA’s PPP page. Small businesses that receive the forgivable loans are allowed to […][...]
