Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, deaths decline in Prince William County

As of July 17, a total of 178 people in Prince William County have died due to the coronavirus disease.

There have been 8,240 cases of coronavirus reported in the county, and 728 people have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic in early March.

Coronavirus cases in Prince William County are on the decline, and so are the number of fatalities. The number of hospitalizations remains steady, according to Brian Misner, the county’s emergency services coordinator.

The trend lines for deaths, hospitalizations, and positive cases are all trending lower in the past week.

There has been a slight uptick in cases in Woodbridge and Dale City, said Misner.  He declined to call it a “spike,” however, Supervisors Margaret Franklin and Andrea Bailey pushed back and, telling Miser they do consider the increase in cases a “spike,” and pushed for more street-level data on the rate of infection in their respective magisterial districts.

County data show increases in coronavirus cases in zip codes 22191 in Woodbridge, 22193 in Dale City, and 20110 just outside Manassas.

Supervisors Yesli Vega and Peter Candland, of the Coles and Gainesville districts, repetitive, asked Miser to provide the board more information on how the virus is being transmitted in the county.

“We’ve heard that the virus is being spread through poor workplace conditions,” said Vega.

Miser offered to bring more information back to the board on August 4.

The county, as well as the state, is operating in Phase III of the governor’s post-pandemic reopening plan. Service-industry businesses, like restaurants and barbershops, are open again.

As are county government facilities like the McCoart and Sudley North government centers in Woodbridge, and near Manassas, respectively, so residents can pay their taxes and access other county services.

The Ferlazzo county government building, at 15941 Donald Curtis Drive in Woodbridge, remains closed to the public. The gym now houses about 40 homeless people who have contracted the disease. A nearby motel on Route 234 near Dumfries is hosting about 60 additional homeless residents who have coronavirus, said Misner.

Starting July 27, the county will offer more coronavirus testing at multiple sites like the Woodbridge Senior Center, Splashdown Water Park near Manassas, James Long Park in Gainesville, Cloverdale Park in Dale City, and Metz Middle School in Manassas City.

Neabsco District Supervisor Vitor Angry suggested the county do a better job in utilizing electronic messaging signs at the entrances of county schools to inform residents about coronavirus tests, and where to get them.

Through the Prince William Food Rescue program, more than 2 million pounds of food has been collected for residents in need.

The county’s libraries reopened as of July 6 with summer camp programs for children. A total of $900,000 will be used by the county to continue to purchase food for seniors and disabled residents through December 31, while $100,000 of county money will be given to the food rescue program to aid its operations, said Misner.

Meanwhile, Prince William County Executive Christopher Martino asked supervisors to unlock $5 million of a total of $42 million it received in CARES Act money it received from the Federal Government to cover an estimated $15 million in coronavirus-related costs the county government is expected to accrue by December.

“There’s a lot going on and we’re going to need help,” said Martino.