Two more people have died of COVID-119 in Alexandria, bringing the death toll to six, according to the city’s daily announcement.
There are also 26 new positive cases of the virus in the city, bringing the total to 273 cases (including the fatalities). There have been 229 new cases in April alone.
Updated 4:15 p.m. — As weeks drag into months and the coronavirus pandemic seems no closer to closure, Alexandria officials are trying to pin down what it will take for life in the city to go back to normal.
Dr. Stephen Haering, Director of the Alexandria Health Department, said reopening will require multiple criteria to be met.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has rocked Alexandria’s economy, Virginia’s oldest banking institution — Burke and Herbert Bank — has approved nearly 400 U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loans to small businesses, and there are 600 still pending, according to bank president and CEO David Boyle.
“We’ve approved just about 400 loans,” Boyle told ALXnow. “We have about 1,000 applications, so we have 600 or so that are still pending in various forms and we started actually closing and funding loans this week. So the money’s actually finding its way into the borrowers’ checking accounts and such this week.”
The City Council reviewed a substantially cut-back $753.3 million fiscal year 2021 operating budget at its meeting Tuesday night, and are now working through a months-long process that must be approved by April 29.
There were few budget surprises at the meeting, as the information was presented last week. The budget is 5.8% lower than the $800 million operating budget Jinks proposed before the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes $46.6 million in cuts to the operating budget and $140.6 million in the capital budget.
The Spring2ACTion fundraiser for the city’s nonprofits is off to a strong start, with more than $500,000 raised from early giving, according to ACT for Alexandria CEO Heather Peeler.
“This year we are asking every donor as part of the checkout process to make an additional gift to the ACT Now COVID-19 Response Fund,” Peeler said. “So far, that has raised more than $15,000.”
Goodhart Group Buys Alexandria Hospital Staff 100 Meals From Mason Social — “Our General Manager, Mark delivered 100 meals to Alexandria Hospital this evening on behalf of @thegoodhartgroup. We love partnering with our community to help support each other during this time of uncertainty.” [Facebook]
GoFundMe Campaign Started for Business Owner With Cancer — “I can’t go anywhere, and I’m riddled with anxiety with everything going on. As you can imagine it’s extra tough to get supplies. Especially with the things I need, supplies are cleared and simple things like hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves are hard to come by.” [Zebra]
Two more Alexandrians have died of COVID-19, the city announced on Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths to four.
There are also seven new positive cases of the virus, putting the total at 248 in the city (including the four fatalities). The city’s health department is not releasing any information on the fatalities unless there is “a public health need to do so.”
Due to Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay at home order, school registration dates in Alexandria are being pushed back.
The most immediate impact is registration for kindergarten. The start date for 2020-2021 kindergarten registration is now May 15, a month later than originally planned.
Carpenter’s Shelter opened a 40-person temporary safety shelter at the Charles Houston Recreation Center on Monday, and up to 40 chronically homeless people will be sleeping on mats on the basketball court.
The Carpenter’s Shelter David’s Place/winter shelter is now closed for the season and does not provide the same space for distancing as Charles Houston (901 Wythe Street).
Fewer arrests, calls for service and inmates in the Alexandria Jail are just a few of the changes the city is contending with as it tries to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Alexandria Police have seen a 42% reduction in calls for service and a 91% decrease in traffic stops since the Governor announced his stay at home order on March 30.
Councilman Canek Aguirre is docketed at tonight’s City Council meeting to introduce a resolution calling for state and federal officials to put a potential moratorium on rents and mortgages and to suspend the reporting of negative credit information by credit bureaus to protect people’s credit scores.
Aguirre said in a press release that the aim of the resolution is protect renters, homeowners, small businesses, and landlords struggling to make ends meet.
