Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has asked City staff to prepare a revised face mask ordinance since news broke that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising that anyone who is fully vaccinated no longer needs to wear them.
“Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues,” the CDC said Tuesday. “For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (more than) 2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or (more than) 2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).”
Wilson, who has been fully vaccinated, said that the city’s current face mask regulation will continue as-is until the Alexandria Health Department gives the all-clear from the governor’s recommendation. Wilson added that the city has asked when Governor Ralph Northam will make the announcement, but did not yet receive a response.
“I have asked our staff to prepare a revised ordinance incorporating the new guidance,” Wilson said. “But we also will await the governor’s action since they basically took our local ordinance and applied it statewide.”
Face coverings have been mandatory in public in Virginia since May 29, with exceptions such as while dining, exercising, or has a health condition that makes wearing a face mask unsafe.
Wilson said he will continue to wear face masks until the governor makes his recommendation.
“I still wear masks when I’m around people outside my family,” he said.
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If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.

If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.