Come Home to Norfolk

Team-

This morning the Virginia Department of Health reports 605,967 total confirmed, and probable cases of COVID-19 and 10,127 total deaths related to the virus in the Commonwealth.

The seven-day positivity rate, PCR only, for the Commonwealth is 5.6%.

Norfolk is credited with 15,738 total cases and 231 deaths with an 9.1% seven-day positivity rate, PCR only.

According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, 1,000 residents in Virginia are currently hospitalized due to the virus. Over 49,685 confirmed COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized and discharged.

VDH reports that 2,039,437 people in Virginia have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. Over 1,114,155 people have been fully vaccinated.

The Commonwealth has received 3,400,105 doses of vaccine and are administering just over 46,770 doses a day.

To date in Norfolk, 52,409 people have received the vaccine and 18,483 people are fully vaccinated.

For daily vaccine summaries and totals, visit the VDH dashboard.

Updated CDC Guidance for Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last Friday revised its guidance on social distancing in schools.

The recommendation is for all K-12 students, regardless of whether community transmission is low, moderate or substantial, the CDC said.

The new guidance entails:  

• Revised physical distancing recommendations to reflect at least 3 feet between students in classrooms and provide clearer guidance when a greater distance (such as 6 feet) is recommended.
• Clarified that ventilation is a component of strategies to clean and maintain healthy facilities.
• Removed recommendation for physical barriers.
• Clarified the role of community transmission levels in decision-making.
• Added guidance on interventions when clusters occur.

For more information, visit - Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention | CDC

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

Current Restrictive Measures: Governor Ralph Northam’s protective measures, Executive Order 72, are still in effect. 

As a reminder, Virginia still requires masks for all Virginians aged five and over to wear masks over their nose and mouth in indoor settings shared with others and when outdoors within six feet of another person.

All employees, not just those in customer facing areas, must also wear masks while working if 6 feet of physical distance cannot be maintained between others.

This is an expansion of Virginia’s mask mandate, which has been in place since May 29, 2020. It is aligned with most recent CDC guidelines, which recommend universal wearing of masks with two layers of fabric that cover the nose and mouth. 

Updated Guidance for AFTER you are fully vaccinated: 

The CDC and VDH have updated their guidance for after people are fully vaccinated. You are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, like the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

If it has been less than 2 weeks since your shot, or if you still need to get your second dose, you are NOT fully protected. Keep taking all prevention steps until you are fully vaccinated.

If you are fully vaccinated, CDC and VDH says:

• You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
• You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
  • However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

COVID-19 Vaccine Registration and Call Center: To pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine online through the new state portal, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or you can pre-register by calling 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682)

Are you ready to give the gift of life? There are plenty of opportunities for you to give blood this month. Be an American Red Cross Hero by donating blood to help save lives. Click here to view all blood donation opportunities in Norfolk.  If you don’t live in Norfolk, don’t worry, you can search by city and find blood drives near you.

Be safe and have a great week, everyone. 

Daniel 

Daniel Hudson, Deputy EM Coordinator

Norfolk Emergency Preparedness & Response

EOC-Plans@norfolk.gov