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A couple weeks ago, Jesse Mazur stopped his car outside George Washington Middle School and thought about how quickly things changed.

It’s a disorienting feeling for the 44-year-old principal who has — one way or another — been in schools most of his life, and inside the hallways are completely empty. Since March 13, Mazur and his staff have had to adapt to a new normal of remotely teaching more than 1,500 students for the remainder of the year.


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Together We Bake, the local nonprofit dedicated to providing comprehensive workforce training and personal development for women in need, just reopened its kitchen just in time for Mother’s Day.

“We figured that we could resume operations in our kitchen and maintain six feet of distance,” Together We Bake Co-Director Elizabeth Bennett-Parker told ALXnow. “The deadline for Mother’s Day orders is this Sunday.”


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Another person has died and there are now 653 cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria, an increase of 26 cases since yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

There are now 20 COVID-19-related fatalities in Alexandria, and the most recent death was a male in his 80s. Additionally, the VDH and city incorrectly reported that a nineteenth person died in Alexandria, and amended their figures to show that there were 18 deaths as of yesterday. That means that there are, in fact, two additional deaths — if the 20 fatalities listed by VDH are accurate.


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Teacher Runs 20 Miles to See Students — “My daughter really misses school and interacting with her friends and teachers, so when Ms. Shannon surprised her Ellie was overwhelmed with excitement. She couldn’t believe that it was actually Ms. Shannon in person.” [Zebra]

T.C. Williams Class of 2020 Making Documentary — “The class of 2020 is making Titan history. Across the city of Alexandria, Titan seniors will be recording their stories all on the same day, May 1. Here’s how it will work: On May 1, anytime between 12:00AM-11:59PM, seniors will answer these questions in 3 short videos of up to 60 seconds each: What do you love? What do you fear? What do you hope for?” [ACPS]


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The little boy in the blue hooded jacket cried out as a long cotton swap poked deep into his nostril.

It only took a second on a recent afternoon, as his masked mother held him inside a Neighborhood Health COVID-19 testing facility outside Casa Chirilagua on Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria. The boy and his mother made an appointment for him online and walked to the site, checked in with staff wearing protective gear and walked over to the tent with a plexiglass shield separating them from the health official.


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ALIVE! gave out 13,000 pounds of food to more than 1,300 Alexandria households on Saturday morning, and the nonprofit is now collecting financial donations for the next distribution.

The food cost about $65,000 and amounted to 4,300 grocery bags, which were distributed within two hours at the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (23 W. Reed Ave.) and John Adams Elementary School (5651 Rayburn Avenue).


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For David Erskine, the last 35 years have passed like the pages of a must-read comic book, and on Saturday he did the unthinkable and took down the sign outside his shop, Aftertime Comics.

“We’re all done here,” Erskine told ALXnow as he unscrewed the sign.


News

Alexandria now has 627 probable or positive cases of COVID-19, an increase of 36 cases since yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

There have been more than 300 new or probable cases in the last 10 days alone in Alexandria.


News

Hard Times Café Founder Passes Away — “Sad news. @HardTimesFun founder Fred Parker passed away last night. He was a very special friend and an icon in #AlexandriaVA. Thank you Fred for so many memories. You will never be forgotten #RIP” [Twitter]

Birchmere Joins Group to Lobby Congress for Coronavirus Relief — “With large gatherings forbidden throughout the country, the live music industry has ground to a halt, closing revenue streams and putting things like rent and payroll payments in jeopardy. More than 450 venues across the U.S. are banding together under the new group called the National Independent Venue Association to present one voice to lawmakers.”  [Washington Business Journal]


News

There are now 19 COVID-19-related fatalities in Alexandria, according to VDH. There have been 10 male deaths and nine female deaths, and the most recent death was a woman. A majority of the fatalities have been senior citizens, although the most infected residents are in their 30s and 40s.

There have been 309 females and 278 males who tested positive for COVID-19 in the city, and it is not clear how many people have recovered. There have been more than 500 probable and new cases reported in the city this month alone.


News

Three more people have died and there are now 575 probable or positive cases in Alexandria, an increase of 28 cases since yesterday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The Alexandria Health Department is also now warning residents against ingesting disinfectants, after President Trump suggested that doing so could eradicate the coronavirus. The department cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s warning that disinfectants should never be ingested or mixed.


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