Occoquan town leaders tonight will discuss how it will spend nearly $1 million of federal coronavirus relief funds.
The cash infusion has town leaders again talking about building a parking garage.
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This organization, known as the Virginia Safe and Healthy Communities Coalition, used the conference held at Shiloh Baptist Church to announce the COVID-19 Mobile Public Health Education Unit launch. The unit will promote vaccine clinics, testing sites, and recommendations made by the Center for Disease Control, such as wearing masks and washing hands statewide.
The coalition’s message will be mainly aimed at African-American communities in the commonwealth who may not have taken the vaccine or any precautions against the coronavirus.
“There are many reasons that people have chosen not to get vaccinated, including and not limited to: Fear of needles, fear of the vaccine, fear of the unknown, belief that the pandemic is over, lack of information, misinformation, mixed messages, and confusion are all reasons that people in the African American community and elsewhere have yet to get vaccinated or boosted. Our goal is to communicate the continued very real threat and urgency of the moment, offer reassurance and encouragement, relevant updates and clarity about what Virginians news to do at this moment,” said Reverend Kobi, Little President of Community Partnerships for Public Health International.
The Fredericksburg NAACP and the Community Partnerships for Public Health International are joined in the coalition by religious organizations such as Shiloh Baptist Church, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Petersburg, and First African Baptist Church of Richmond.
Coronavirus cases are on the rise in the region. In Prince William County, about 192 cases were reported over the past seven days, while an average of 72 cases were reported in Stafford County over the last seven days.
Hospitalizations remain low, with only 106 people in Northern Virginia admitted to a hospital with coronavirus symptoms and 14 in an ICU, according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.
(The Center Square) - Head Start teachers in Louisiana, Ohio and Virginia are suing the Biden administration over a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the federally funded program.
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A mass vaccination clinic serving the Fredericksburg region will close.
A Community Vaccination Center in Central Park will close on March 5, the Rappahannock Area Health District reports. The days and hours the center will be open during its final week will be Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Central Park center has administered more than 36,000 free coronavirus vaccines since it opened in early October 2021. As more people have become vaccinated and the vaccines have become widely available at doctor’s offices and pharmacies, demand has decreased, states the health district.
Now, the Virginia Department of Health will shift the focus to its mobile program to provide free vaccines to people in areas where access is more challenging.
The Rappahannock Area Health District will continue to provide free coronavirus vaccines in local health department locations. Appointments are not required but are encouraged.
Vaccines will be administered
Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
Spotsylvania County Health Dept., 9104 Courthouse Road, Holbart Building, Spotsylvania 22553, (540) 507-7400
Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
City of Fredericksburg Health Dept., 608 Jackson St., Fredericksburg 22401, (540) 899-4142
King George County Health Dept., Village Center
8097 Kings Highway, King George 22485 (540) 775-3111
Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
Stafford County Health Dept., Courthouse Complex
1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford 22554, (540) 659-3101
Caroline County Health Dept., 17202 Richmond Turnpike, Milford 22427
804-633-5465
Nearly 72 percent of adults in the Rappahannock Area Health District have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, with nearly 65 percent fully vaccinated.
Nearly 72 percent of all Virginians have been fully vaccinated. About 15.3 million doses of vaccine have been administered across the Commonwealth since vaccines became available.
According to the Health District office, Virginians who are unvaccinated remain at high risk of severe illness and hospitalization due to the coronavirus. VDH recommends individuals who are 12 and older receive booster doses of the vaccine.
On Tuesday, the 28-year-old educator who works with children with autism at an elementary school in Woodbridge was shown the door. Administrators suspended her without pay because she didn't get a coronavirus vaccine and refused to comply with the division's weekly-testing mandate.
After three years on the job, Simms misses her students and their parents, with whom she's formed close bonds.
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The School Board shot down the motion made by Garrisonville District representative Maureen Siegmund and supported by Hartwood representative Alyssa Halstead (both of who ran on repealing the mask policy) just after midnight, following hours of testimony from parents and teachers calling parent choice for masks.
"I don't have a problem with having a mask mandate on the books. But I want to have a parent opt-out," said Siegmund.
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They met in the parking lot outside Margaret Brent Elementary School, formed a line, and walked to the front of the school, where they met with the principal. Their goal was to admit their children to class without facemasks, a violation of a forced masking policy for anyone inside a county school building that's been in place since August.
We are going to walk here in just one moment. I want to make sure everybody's ready for that. We are walking. We are letting our principal talk to us. He's going to say what he's going to say." said Karla Alsop, the parent of a second grade student. "We're going to respond, and we're going to do so respectfully because we've all been put in this position unfairly, including him, and he's been very open and transparent, as have we. So we're going to respect this process."
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The Federal Government began distributing 500 million home coronavirus tests kits Tuesday, January 18. The Biden administration ordered the kits to make testing more available and equitable, said Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
Citizens may go to covidtests.org, where they can get to get up to four free tests per household. Users that provide their name and address will have the tests shipped.
With coronavirus cases in the latest Omnicron wave now decreasing, the demand for test kits remains high.
On January 11, residents flooded the Downtown Fredericksburg Branch Central Rappahannock Library, snapping up 2,000 test kits. Libraries have been distributing test kits since last fall, and it will be weeks before the Fredericksburg library gets more, said Library System Deputy Director Rebecca Purdy.
During a recent conference call, Senator Tim Kaine (Va.-D) briefly discussed efforts he is participating in to get more free coronavirus testing to Virginia residents.
“It’s been disturbing, depressing to feel like we’ve turned a corner on COVID last summer only to see first the delta, and then the omicron variant pose significant challenges,” said Kaine.
Virginia reported 57,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on January 16, 23,000 fewer than the week before. It’s the first decline since cases began in October 2021.
Kaine caught the virus early on in the pandemic calling the situation “not a joke when you get it,” he said.
The senator recommended continuing to promote vaccination and boosting. Kaine repeated statistics he had received from Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the CDC, who stated that those who remain unvaccinated are 10 times more likely to be infected with the virus, 17 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 20 times more likely to die from the virus than those who are vaccinated.
Kaine also talked about making available more rapid and affordable testing for the virus so people can test themselves before meeting with others or traveling. The senator mentioned that while most of the world has access to cheap testing, the U.S. has fallen behind, said Kaine. He told a story of family members who live in Germany who can easily get home-based testing from local pharmacies for a low price.
Kaine says he is one of the multiple politicians to push the Biden administration to ship out the free tests to citizens.
The school superintendent announced that the more than 11,000 teachers and employees of the Prince William County Public School division must get a coronavirus vaccination or submit to weekly testing.
LaTanya McDade briefed the School Board about the vaccine mandate, as well and the few remaining attendees in the room after police cleared the room earlier in the evening due to security concerns.
School employees who do not get the jab will need to submit to weekly testing, said McDade, who did not provide a deadline for vaccination during the shortened meeting.
