Emergency Preparedness & Response

The Department of Emergency Preparedness and Response consists of two divisions which are also the central point of contact for Emergency Management and Emergency Communications (911).

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Sep 08

Team Norfolk COVID-19 Update – September 8, 2020

Posted on September 8, 2020 at 11:42 AM by Daniel Hudson

Team-

This morning the Virginia Department of Health reports 128,407 total confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 2,686 total deaths related to the virus in the Commonwealth.

The seven-day positivity rate, PCR only, for the Commonwealth is 7.5%.

Norfolk is credited with 4,537 total cases and 60 deaths with a 7.6% seven-day positivity rate, PCR only.

According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, 1,051 residents in Virginia are currently hospitalized due to the virus. Over 15,700 confirmed COVID-19 patients had been hospitalized and discharged.

Last week Virginia Governor Ralph Northam stated in a press conference that the coronavirus is moderately contained in the state; however, he said that does not mean we should let our guard down. Therefore, he decided that current restrictions in the Hampton Roads area will remain in effect until further notice.

Deputy Emergency Manager Scott Mahone continues to do an outstanding job as the Logistics Chief, working to fill all resource requests.  Please remember, for PPE and any other resource needs, use the COVID Recovery Data Collection Tool. This is the same tool department directors use to submit their weekly Situation Reports.

In addition to submitting your weekly Situation Reports, please remember to submit your weekly PPE usage report using the same COVID Recovery Data Collection Tool.

For more information on this, view this week's Incident Action Plan.

In July, the City of Norfolk was selected by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and the Health Equity Working Group to participate in the Health Equity Pilot program.

As part of this program, we were allocated 20,000 cloth masks, bottles of hand sanitizer, and public health materials to provide to any organization that hosts a community event in Norfolk that focuses on the underserved and historically disadvantaged communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. To date, we have provided over 12,000 masks and bottles of hand sanitizer to numerous organizations that are creating opportunities to serve our community. For that, we say, "thank you.”

For any organization holding a community event in Norfolk that is targeting our underserved, low-income, high-risk, or vulnerable populations, please feel free to email me at daniel.hudson@norfolk.gov, and we will provide you with masks, bottles of hand sanitizer, and public health materials to pass out at your event while supplies last.

Lastly, it looks like we are expected to have some unsettled weather this week and into the weekend with daily chances for showers or storms. These showers or storms could bring locally heavy rainfall, especially Wednesday through Friday. Daily high temperatures will be in the lower 80s.

Be safe and have a great week, everyone.

Daniel

Daniel Hudson, Deputy EM Coordinator
Norfolk Emergency Preparedness & Response
EOC-Plans@norfolk.gov