There are now 1,193 cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria, an increase of 51 new or probable case since yesterday.
No new deaths have been announced and there have been 30 fatalities due to the virus in the city. Additionally, the city’s Hispanic population now leads with positive cases at 515 and four reported deaths.
Alexandria’s poorest areas have been hit hardest by the coronavirus, and local groups are demanding that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam respond by supplying 10,000 testing kits over the next 10 days and providing housing for COVID-positive patients who currently live in jam-packed residences.
“We urge the governor to come visit Arlandria and see it with his own eyes, leave the governor’s mansion, check it out and then take dramatic action necessary to stop or at least slow down the spread of this disease,” Jon Liss, co-director of New Virginia Majority said in a Friday afternoon tele-press conference with Tenants and Workers United.
Alexandria Police are investigating an assault that occurred at the 24 Hour Express Food Store in Arlandria on Wednesday night.
Police received the call at around 9:15 p.m. and found a man with non-life threatening injuries. The victim was transported to The George Washington University Hospital and was conscious when he spoke to police, according to scene commander Sergeant Mark Blackwell.
Hundreds of Alexandria residents took to the streets of Arlandria early on Friday evening to protest against paying rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lisa Hernandez lost her job two months ago, and can’t pay her $1,000 monthly rent for a small apartment that she lives in with her husband and young son.
Tenants & Workers United will lead a rent protest in Arlandria today starting at 5 p.m., and the organization is asking low-income residents to make themselves heard by joining along in their cars or banging pots and pans from the windows of their residences.
The caravan is scheduled to assemble at 4:30 p.m. and will go through Arlandria with the message that rents in Virginia should be canceled during the pandemic. The protest is planned to last until 6 p.m.
Social distancing got you feeling a little stir crazy? A few Alexandria businesses are hosting quarantine-friendly online activities to help keep you connected to your neighbors and favorite local establishments.
Hops N Shine, a Del Ray bar with an ongoing fundraiser for laid-off employees, is hosting a virtual beer tasting on Thursday (April 30). The tasting, hosted by Hops N Shine on Facebook live, will feature the Ashburn-based Old Ox Brewing Company and four beers — the Festival, Hoppy Place, and two more yet to be named.
Hunger Free Alexandria Has Urgent Need for Volunteers Today — “Urgent need for Thursday, April 23, 4:30-7:00 p.m. Hunger Free Alexandria is working with World Central Kitchen to feed our neighbors in need. Bring your mask and help with bagging pre-packaged food and distributing meals. Location is on Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria.” [Facebook]
State Legislators Reconvene in Richmond — “My “desk” at one of the most unusual legislative sessions in Virginia history. We begin at noon. You can watch us on the livestream. Virginia Transparency even during COVID-19!” [Mark Levine/Twitter]
Arlandria bar Hops N Shine (3410 Mount Vernon Avenue) is running a GoFundMe for its laid-off kitchen staff.
The bar opened last January and has become a local fixture; full to the point of overflowing on Wednesday trivia nights. Like other restaurants, Hops N Shine is operating a limited carry-out and delivery business, and the company said in the GoFundMe that it’s had to minimize the number of employees for financial and health reasons.
Mike Bostick, the produce manager at Mom’s Organic Market, couldn’t help himself, so he recently yarn bombed the store’s bike racks to look like characters from Star Wars.
“I wanted to do something that was widely known, that people could get right away immediately,” Bostick told ALXnow. “I’m more of a Star Trek fan, but that would be a little too difficult to make.”
Casa Chirilagua took to YouTube to thank Alexandria for the recent outpouring of support and to outline ways the organization is trying to help some of the city’s most vulnerable populations.
Casa Chirilagua is a Christian nonprofit in the Chirilagua/Arlandria neighborhood that provides help for local low-income families. Over the last few weeks, as many of these families have lost jobs, Casa Chirlagua has scrambled to help cover rent and grocery needs for the community.
Alexandria’s goal of reshaping the Del Ray and Arlandria plans is still moving forward, but the once town hall-driven process is going entirely digital to combat the spread of coronavirus.
The long term plans for the neighborhoods shape policies on things like retail, residential and public spaces in Del Ray and Arlandria. These plans were last updated in 2003 for Arlandria and 2005 for Del Ray. With Amazon moving in next door, the new plans aimed to help these neighborhoods hold onto their sense of community.
