The YMCA in Del Ray (420 E Monroe Avenue) is temporarily closed after a medical incident.
Alexandria Fire-EMS are on the scene assisting a woman who went into cardiac arrest in the gym section of the YMCA.
The woman is being transported to the hospital. As of 3:40 p.m. the gym remains temporarily closed.
James Cullum contributed to this story
There have been no new deaths related to COVID-19, and cases continue to rise. In the meantime, Alexandria’s two-and-a-half-year-long state of emergency will expire on June 30.
The declaration was made by Council in March 2020 — at the onset of the pandemic — and has been extended five times.
Earlier this month, Mayor Justin Wilson told ALXnow that there is no need to continue the authority that the state of emergency enables.
“(T)he need for an emergency declaration to address the impacts of the pandemic will be past us,” Wilson said.
As of Friday, June 24, there were 36,486 cases reported in Alexandria — an increase of 352 cases since Monday, June 20. Updated numbers have not been released by the Virginia Department of Health.
The number of deaths remains at 191, and the seven day positivity rate for Covid tests is 17.4%.
The seven-day average of new cases is 74.7, up from 70.9 on June 20, and down from 119.4 a month ago.
There have been 1,981 cases reported so far in Alexandria in June, and the city currently has a Medium community level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
January saw the most new cases, with 12,822 reported, followed by 2,900 cases in May, June’s figures, 1,488 cases in April, 1,227 cases in February and 593 cases in March.
The Alexandria Health Department’s last update was last week, to announce the availability of vaccine shots for kids ages five and younger.
Vaccine Update
- There are 21,970 unvaccinated Alexandria residents
- About 78% of residents (119,808 people) are fully vaccinated
- 86% (131,910 people) of residents got at least one dose
- 65,759 residents got booster shots
With construction slated for later this year, the planned John Carlyle Center for Health and Wellness is looking for tenants.
The developer behind the 126,000-square-foot medical facility is starting to push out the word ahead of construction that space is available to lease. Cushman & Wakefield is handling the leasing of the medical offices and retail spaces.
“We are in active discussions with potential tenants including hospital systems, national and local specialty practice groups,” Cushman & Wakefield representative Lindsey Groom said.
The facilities are expected to begin construction at the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter of this year but an exact date has not been determined as construction logistics planning and the permitting process continues. The project at 765 John Carlyle Street will also include a 268,000-square-foot senior living residence and four-level parking garage.
Groom said there is a lack of these type of medical office properties in Northern Virginia.
“With the average age of medical office buildings in the I-395 North submarket being 40+ years old, this brand new facility will help address this strain going forward and help meet the demand for specialty care by providing healthcare providers and their patients with access points and care delivery in communities that are currently underserved, as the area’s population continues to grow,” Groom said.
The project saw some bumps in January when the developer made changes to the approved design that city staff did not support.
Alexandria Police are investigating the death of a 49-year-old homeless woman who was found in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria early Tuesday morning.
The woman was spotted by a passerby at around 5:30 a.m., according to police. The public was notified of the incident via Twitter just after 7 a.m. and one lane of north bound traffic on Mount Vernon Avenue was briefly shut down.
Police tweeted that the victim was a well known homeless woman and that the death is not suspicious in nature.
NOTIFICATION:: The Alexandria Police Dept is conducting a Sudden Death investigation at a bus stop in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Ave. A passerby spotted the 49-year old woman a little after 5:30am and called 911. Part of Mount Vernon Ave remains closed for police activity.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 16, 2021
UPDATE:: Victim is a known homeless woman. Cause and manner of death will be determined by the Chief Medical Examiner's office. One NB lane of Mount Vernon Ave. will be closed for a short time.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 16, 2021
A driver suffered a life-threatening medical emergency on Quaker Lane near Fairlington this morning (Nov. 5), and while there was no crash, the incident shut down the roadway from around 8 a.m. to – 9:30 a.m.
The roadway going northbound was shut down due to the number of first responders and police at the scene, according to Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine.
The area that was shut down is near the Fairlington Center and the intersection of W. Braddock Road and King Street.
NOTIFICATION :: The northbound lanes of North Quaker Lane are closed at 33rd Street. The Alexandria Police Department is assisting with a medical emergency. Expect police activity in the area.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) November 5, 2020
The Alexandria City Public Schools will not be tracking student attendance for online learning during its month-long COVID-19 shutdown.
Alexandria City Public Schools announced on Friday that all schools would close until April 14 — after spring break. Every elementary school student was given instructional packets to take home, and students in grades 3-12 went home with Chromebook laptops.
“I don’t think you can [track attendance], except to see if students have completed assignments,” ACPS spokeswoman Helen Lloyd told ALXnow. “The goal of this is not grading assignments, but continuity of learning.”
There are more than 15,700 students in the school system, which will be putting out staff updates at noon every day and notices to families every day at 1 p.m. in ACPS Express. Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. will also be hosting a webinar at 3 p.m. during the week.
Have you received your @ACPSk12 Learning Activity Packets for Emergency Closing? Check them out. Your child can use these as a resources while they are away from school. Explore different grade levels. @DMacPTA https://t.co/RV8WSwUVGp
— MacArthur ACPS (@MacArthurACPS) March 14, 2020
“We are in close communication with the state superintendent and working through what we would need to do to ensure that our students are getting the right number of days and hours in terms of instruction this year,” Lloyd said. “We may be using some snow days, and we may require a waiver [from the Virginia Department of Education to not make up] our days and hours that have been missed.”
Throughout Monday morning and afternoon, Alexandria City Public School staff also started the now-daily process of handing out meals at the Chinquapin Drive side of T.C. Williams High School to students, regardless of their eligibility for free and reduced-price meals.
ACPS instruction includes three daily half-hour documentaries from the Smithsonian’s “Science How” and “Stem in 30” series documentaries that will be screened on a 24-hour loop on ACPS TV. The schedule includes “Mummy Science – Natural and Cultural Preserved Remains” and “Live from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.” School staff are also in talks with publishing houses to acquire the rights to works that teachers could read to students on ACPS TV, Lloyd said.
Port City Brewing Co. Closes Tasting Room — “Effective Sunday, March 15, 2020, we will be closing our Tasting Room until further notice. We are doing this to help the community try to get a handle on the spread of Coronavirus.”[Facebook]
ACPS Provides Food Access Update — “Starting Monday, Alexandria City Public Schools will be providing emergency meals at no cost for any child under 18 and any family who needs it.” [ACPS]
DASH Modifies Bus Routes — “Beginning Thursday, March 19, DASH will operate on an “Enhanced Saturday” schedule weekdays in order to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 among our employees, riders and community.” [DASH]
Alexandria Library Open, Taking Social Distancing Measures — “As of Saturday, March 14, 2020 the Alexandria Library will be canceling all Library programs, events, outreach activities, passport services, proctoring, and meeting room reservations through Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Meeting rooms will not be available for use. Computers and seating will be reconfigured, with fewer available for use.” [Alexandria Library]
Recreation Dept. Suspends Events Until March 21 — “All indoor programs, classes and activities produced by RPCA are suspended Saturday, March 14 through Saturday, March 21. This includes afterschool programming and the Out of School Time program. Credits will be issued for any missed activities during this time. Throughout the one week programming break, RPCA will continue to evaluate which services can be offered going forward and will provide an update prior to March 21.” [RPCA]
‘Maximum Telework’ for Federal Employees — “OPM Finally Announces: ‘Federal offices in the Washington, DC area status: Open with maximum telework flexibilities.'” [PoPville]
(Updated at 11:30 a.m.) Traffic is slow from Seminary Road to Duke Street after a crash and reported medical emergency in the southbound lanes of I-395.
The incident was reported shortly before 11 a.m., underneath the Duke Street overpass. Initial reports suggest that a driver suffered a medical emergency and crashed. It was not immediately clear whether how many other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Virginia State Police, along with Alexandria and Arlington firefighters and medics, rushed to the scene. First responders arriving on scene reported that they were performing CPR on the driver.
As of 11:15 a.m. two lefthand lanes of I-395 were blocked by the emergency activity.
A second crash along I-395 in the same area, involving a sedan and a dump truck, was reported just prior to 11:30 a.m.
