To the Fairfax County Community,
Last week, Governor Northam announced Virginia will be entering Phase 3 of reopening. Many have asked why Northern Virginia didn't delay entering Phase 3 and the answer lies in the data which I outlined in last Thursday's newsletter and in the work of the Health Department, which was detailed during today's Health and Human Services Committee meeting. We continue to improve upon the metrics that the Governor outlined at the beginning of this process.
In addition, Northern Virginia acts as a region. One county can't act on its own. We have sufficient space at our hospitals, we have adequate PPE, there is testing capacity for everyone who needs it, and we are building our infrastructure to conduct contact tracing for the next year.
I understand concerns however, the surges of cases in Florida and Texas are troubling. Today, Governor Northam responded by prohibiting congregating in bars. Despite this update, it is safer to stay home. Otherwise, we must continue to act to protect ourselves and our families. We all must:
- Wear a mask as required.
- Wash our hands.
- Practice social distancing.
In preparation for entering phase 3 of reopening, my office and the Fairfax County Health Department are working to ensure vulnerable communities have access to masks. Over the last week, my office has donated 10,000 masks to Neighborhood Health, Healthworks, Culmore Clinic, Cornerstones, and CASA Virginia. We were able to do so because of the generous donation of masks from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States.
See below for the full June 30 edition of my newsletter. For the resources mentioned in past newsletters, visit my website. If you have a friend who would like to sign up for this newsletter, they can do so here.