Coronavirus Updates
Even in the middle of a pandemic, sometimes baseball games are still canceled for old-fashioned reasons. Read more
Another week of unemployment claims data released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission told a similar story to that of recent weeks. New layoffs in the Hampton Roads area are surging along with new cases of the novel coronavirus, and the overall employment situation in the rest of … Read more
Fauquier County has been in no way immune to the pandemic’s economic fallout, but the county’s employment situation continues to be better than that of Virginia as a whole, according to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission. Read more
Testing for the novel coronavirus has become exponentially more accessible since the pandemic began. In Virginia, 43 times more tests were performed during the most recent week than in mid-March. Getting tested before traveling or returning to work has become a routine part of life during th… Read more
Fewer Fauquier County residents filed for unemployment insurance benefits last week than in any week since early April, but the number of county residents receiving benefits is still more than 16 times higher than before pandemic-related layoffs began. Read more
Offices of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services have reopened for in-person services by appointment only. Read more
Summer in Fauquier County has always been a challenge for families who are food-insecure. With COVID-19, this need became even more urgent. The Fauquier Reaches for Excellence in School Health program, better known as FRESH, seeks to meet this need in the community. Their goal is to ensure t… Read more
As promised, last week I said I would look into the reasons why deaths were presented on the public Virginia Department of Health website on the day they were recorded as COVID-19 deaths and not when they actually occurred. Read more
The Fauquier County School Board voted unanimously Monday night to reopen county schools on Aug. 24 using a “blended” instruction model, with students attending school two days per week and learning from home the other three. Read more
A new survey of Fauquier County parents indicates majority support for sending children to school four days a week this fall instead of just two -- a possibility that remains on the table as school board members continue to weigh options for the upcoming school year, which could begin as soo… Read more
Unemployment claims filed during the week ending July 4 rose in both Fauquier County and Virginia as a whole despite the easing of some pandemic restrictions as the state entered Phase 3 of Gov. Ralph Northam's reopening plan. Read more
It's not yet clear whether new state guidance reducing, in some cases, the recommended physical distancing among students in Virginia schools from 6 feet to 3 feet will have a substantive effect on Fauquier County’s plans for reopening its public schools. School board members will discuss re… Read more
Public computers at the Fauquier Public Library branches in Warrenton, Bealeton and Marshall are now available by appointment, according to a July 6 blog post on the FPL website. However, library buildings remain otherwise closed. Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 29, Fauquier County Public Schools Superintendent David Jeck presented to the school board four possible plans for opening schools in the fall. Read more
At least for now, Virginia’s mask mandate has survived another legal challenge, the tenth so far. The latest suit was brought forth on behalf of Philip Carter Winery in Hume, and its representative, Philip Strother. On June 29, Judge Jeanette Irby of the 20th Judicial Circuit denied a motion… Read more
According to the latest data from the Virginia Employment Commission, initial claims for unemployment benefits rose in both Fauquier County and Virginia as a whole during the latest filing week, which ended June 27. This is the first time that initial claims have increased since the week end… Read more
Here are some thoughts for the end of June, as we move into the seventh month of this pandemic. I would like to cite a quote from one of my early emails: Read more
As COVID-19 cases in Texas, Florida and Arizona and California are soaring, Virginia is keeping a lid on new cases. The state added 624 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, June 26, and 677 cases on Saturday, but since then has been able to remain below 600 new cases a day. Five hundred and nine… Read more
On the morning of Saturday, June 27, the 48 graduating seniors at Wakefield School in The Plains made their way up from the school’s gym to an improvised commencement ceremony site in one of the parking lots on campus. In addition to the fancy southern attire that is a hallmark of Wakefield … Read more
At the very moment that most businesses and their employees were being hit the hardest by the economic repercussions of the pandemic, Neha and Ajit Jadhav purchased thousands of dollars worth of gift cards from three local restaurants and donated them to local first responders and health car… Read more
As a percentage of the total labor force, the number of claims for unemployment insurance benefits by residents of Fauquier County continues to be much less than the state and national averages. Read more
Although some county offices opened on Wednesday, June 24, Fauquier Public Library Director Maria Del Rosso said in a June 22 phone call that the interior spaces of the county’s library buildings will most likely not reopen this month. Read more
On Friday, June 19, the Virginia Department of Health website updated its modeling for the state; the model was created by the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute. The analysis attempts to put the results of mitigation efforts in perspective. Read more
The flood of layoffs at the height of the pandemic has turned into a trickle, but most people who lost their jobs since March have not returned to work. Read more
Playgrounds in county-owned parks are now available for use, according to Gary Rzepecki, Fauquier County’s director of parks and recreation. All playgrounds were cleaned, sterilized and fitted with fall-cushioning material last week. Read more
It’s an old saying: A friend in need is a friend indeed. For some small businesses in Fauquier County that have been shut for weeks during the pandemic, their landlords have turned out to be good friends indeed. Read more
Shenandoah National Park entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan on Thursday, June 11. With few exceptions, most of the park's facilities will reopen by the end of the month, according to a statement on the park's website. Read more
On Thursday, June 4, the Virginia Employment Commission released the latest weekly statistics on claims for unemployment insurance by Virginia residents. The latest filing week ended on May 30. Read more
Courtesy of Virginia Mercury Read more
The United States Department of Agriculture has announced a program to provide financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities in order to help offset sales declines and increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Since April 12, free Internet access has been available in the parking lot of Leeds Ruritan Club Park in Hume, thanks to a Wi-Fi hotspot set up by Blaze Broadband, a local firm. Even though the park is currently closed due to the pandemic, anyone can utilize the Wi-Fi from their vehicle in t… Read more
In Virginia, the total number of initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed during the pandemic is now greater than the number of initial claims filed during the 18-month recession that began in December 2007, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. Read more
On Wednesday afternoon several dozen vehicles carrying members of the Fauquier Senior Center filed through the Warrenton Community Center parking lot. Read more
On bingo days at the Fauquier Health Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Warrenton, nursing home residents sit in the doorways of their rooms facing into the hallway, four to a group, while a staff member calls out the numbers. “That way they can interact with other residents and still st… Read more
Hospitals practice regularly for disasters or disease outbreaks that bring a flood of patients to their doors. But those drills are predicated on the assumption that it’s temporary – that the dire event will soon pass and operations return to normal. Read more
Only 17 people were at Moser Funeral home in Warrenton on May 15 to attend the funeral of Milford “Glen” Cordell of Casanova. If it wasn’t for COVID-19, his wife Carol believes there would have been more than 200 attending. Cordell coached youth sports in Vienna for more than 40 years and wa… Read more
Gov. Ralph Northam acknowledged Tuesday he “was not prepared” when he agreed to take photos with well-wishers at Virginia Beach over the weekend despite having left his face mask in the car. But he wants the rest of Virginia to do better and announced a statewide face-covering rule starting Friday, May 29. Read more
Restaurants in Prince William County and Manassas will remain to-go only this weekend, despite efforts by Prince William County and Manassas officials to seek Gov. Ralph Northam’s permission to allow some outdoor seating. Read more
Hero’s Bridge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving older veterans, has implemented four new programs for veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization recognizes that veterans older than 65 are traditionally an isolated segment of the population. “We quickly minimized our… Read more
On Friday, May 15, Executive Order 61 went into effect, signaling the beginning of the first phase of the Forward Virginia plan for much of the state. Phase 1 aims to gradually ease public health restrictions while containing the spread of COVID-19; it remains in effect until midnight on Jun… Read more
Beginning Thursday, May 21, Patient First will begin drive-up COVID-19 testing by appointment at its locations on Lee Highway in Gainesville, and Old Bridge Road in Lake Ridge. Read more
The University of Mary Washington is offering “COVID-19 in Context,” an eight-week online summer course starting June 1 free of charge to the community. Read more
The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association has launched a new online data dashboard focused on statistics associated with COVID-19 cases in licensed nursing facilities across the commonwealth, the association announced in a news release Monday. Read more
Courtesy of Virginia Mercury Read more
Spanish-speaking residents in Northern Virginia continue to see far higher rates of sickness from COVID-19 than other groups. Now, some lawmakers and advocates are saying more effective outreach in local Hispanic communities is needed to slow the spread of the disease. Read more
Phase 1 of Gov. Ralph Northam’s plan to lift restrictions placed on businesses and public gatherings in response to the coronavirus began Friday. After two months, restaurants were once again permitted to offer table service on site, as long as those tables were outside. Hair salons were als… Read more
At the regular meeting of the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors on Thursday evening, the consent agenda, which passed without discussion, had a few of the usual odds and ends. Read more
On Thursday, May 14, the Virginia Employment Commission released the latest weekly statistics on claims for unemployment insurance by Virginia residents. The story mirrors that of recent weeks: Week-over-week numbers of new claims for unemployment insurance continue to decrease but remain at… Read more
The Warrenton Town Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night that would allow businesses to expand their footprint out onto certain streets and sidewalks. The plan would allow customers to maintain social distancing as the region takes its first tentative steps toward reopening… Read more
Courtesy of Virginia Mercury Read more
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