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As Testing Capacity Expands, Fairfax County Sees Jump in COVID-19 Cases

(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Fairfax County jumped overnight from 80 known coronavirus cases to 124.

As of this morning (Friday), the Fairfax Health District has the highest number of presumptive cases, followed by Arlington County, which has 63 cases, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The Fairfax Health District includes Fairfax County, the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and towns in the county.

Expanding testing capacity in the state could explain the increase in confirmed cases.

Inova Urgent Care locations in Chantille, Arlington and Tysons recently turned into respiratory illness clinics that offer the test.

Statewide, 604 cases of the virus have been identified of the 7,337 people who have been tested. Fourteen people have died from the respiratory illness, with one death in Fairfax County.

Data via Virginia Department of Health and Fairfax County

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Friday Morning Notes

Editor’s note: Starting March 24, Tysons Reporter will have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.

Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:

Grab-and-Go Meal Sites Have Curbside Service — “FCPS staff will deliver meals to children and adults while they wait in their cars in the kiss and ride line. Walk-ups are still welcome at all sites.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Hilton to Furlough Employees — “Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will furlough hundreds — if not thousands — of employees at its McLean headquarters as part of ongoing cost cutting measures related to the novel coronavirus.” [Washington Business Journal]

Local Student Makes Medical Masks — “When Beech Tree mom Van Nguyen heard about the shortage of medical face masks, she put her sewing skills into action. Her original goal was to make 20 face masks, but after posting about her project on social media, she received a plea from local medical professionals to make more. Beech Tree fifth grader Caroline got wind of Nguyen’s project and decided to put her own sewing skills to the test.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Falls Church City Employee Has Coronavirus — “Officials were notified this week of the positive test — the first of a City employee and third reported in the City itself — by the Fairfax County Health Department who determined there was not a public health reason to report the details of the case to the public… Falls Church officials told the News-Press the employee is not a City resident.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Former Vienna Town Councilmember Dies — “George Lovelace, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime Vienna Town Council member who also served one year as a state delegate, died March 22 at age 83.” [Inside NoVa]

Dry Cleaners Now Open in The Boro — The Boro Cleaners is now open at 8303 B Greensboro Drive. [The Boro/Twitter]

Falls Church Farmers Market is Back — “The farmers market in the City of Falls Church will reopen this weekend, though it will look a little different, after a one-week hiatus out of concern over the potential spread of the coronavirus.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Special School Board Meeting Today — “The Fairfax County School Board will hold a Special Meeting at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 27. All Board members will participate electronically due to the COVID-19 emergency.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

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Four Square Miles: New Tysons Brand Aims to be Inclusive

A rebranding effort currently underway aims to get people to identify all four square miles of Tysons as one place and not just the area by the two malls.

“It’s not about putting a new logo out there,” Drew Sunderland, the director of marketing and placemaking at Tysons Partnership, told Tysons Reporter. “The goal is to create a sense of engagement here that connects people to place.”

Sunderland said that Tysons Partnership has been working with Gensler since 2019 on a multi-phase branding effort.

“We did a very comprehensive intake of opinions and feelings from our members and also members of the community to get a feeling for the pulse here in Tysons,” he said.

In February, Tysons Partnership’s board approved the “strategic foundation” for the brand strategy, he said.

Tysons Partnership aims to reflect Tysons’ diversity in the new brand that can evolve as Tysons does, he said.

“You’re not talking about one monolithic, homogeneous, urban area — there’s a lot of different characteristics in Tysons,” he said.

As for Tysons’ eight neighborhoods, Sunderland said that the brand will let the neighborhoods and micro-communities — like The Boro — to “establish their own identities but within the greater umbrella of this Tysons brand platform.”

While the rebranding is underway, Tysons Partnership is also looking to establish a new business and funding model for the nonprofit association, which currently relies on members’ dues.

Sol Glasner, the president of Tysons Partnership, has called the members’ dues model “not sustainable.”

To help with the nonprofit’s constrained finances, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a $1 million grant for placemaking events, branding efforts, sponsorship and media outreach. Sunderland said that the grant has been matched by private members.

Sunderland said that relying on members’ dues meant that the group had limited resources when it made its “starter brand” about five years ago, which created decals on the water tank and street banners.

While sometimes lampooned, the use of the water tank for branding stemmed from its historical significance as a Civil War signal tower and convenience due to its height, Sunderland said, adding that people can expect it to be a part of the new branding effort.

“The water tower signage was sort of like a bat signal,” he said. “Tysons is more than just a mall.”

Another previous challenge was promoting pop-ups as part of the “Tysons experience,” Sunderland said.

“We struggled to get the word out that things were happening in Tysons and connecting new pop-ups to a bigger picture,” he said. “These things are not happening in a vacuum.”

People may start to see the new brand later this year, he said.

“We do want [people] to start thinking that the area that surrounds these four Metros is one place,” he said.

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Photos: Teachers, Staff Hold ‘Love Parade’ Today for Vienna Families

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Earlier today, teachers and staff from a local elementary school drove decorated vehicles through Vienna neighborhoods to say hello to families.

The “Love Parade” organized by Cunningham Park Elementary School (1001 Park Street) aimed to show support for families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The parade started around 11 a.m. and made its way through several local streets. Families came outside to wave to the teachers and staff, who adorned their vehicles with messages:

“We love you.”

“CPES STUDENTS ROCK!”

“Remember Wash your HANDS”

Fairfax County public schools are closed through the end of the school year. FCPS is planning for teachers to provide distance learning to students while the buildings are closed.

Some people took to social media to show their appreciation for the parade:

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McLean Community Center Cancels McLean Day, Other Activities

The McLean Community Center recently announced that it’s canceling McLean Day and events in April and May due to coronavirus concerns.

The annual event usually draws roughly 10,000 people to Lewinsville Park for laser tag, bubble ball and live entertainment, according to Visit Fairfax.

The event also always people to vote for candidates running for the McLean Community Center’s Governing Board.

The board decided yesterday (Wednesday) to cancel the center’s sponsored events for those two months following concerns that the events could draw large crowds, according to a press release.

Previously, the center, which is home to the Alden Theatre, galleries for the McLean Project for the Arts, the Susan B. DuVal Art Studio and meeting rooms, announced it would be closed through April 12.

Now, the center is closed “until further notice.”

As for the election, absentee voting is currently underway through 5 p.m. on May 13.

“The McLean Day in-person voting, stipulated in the Center’s Memorandum of Understanding, will be held at MCC, 1234 Ingleside Ave., as scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16,” the press release said.

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Fairfax County Providing Extra $160K to Stream Project in Vienna

Fairfax County will provide an extra $160,000 to help the Town of Vienna kick off a stream restoration project.

The county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve the additional funding at their meeting on Tuesday.

The extra funds will go toward the design and construction of the Northside Park Piney Branch Stream Restoration Project.

Located in the Town of Vienna and the Difficult Run Watershed, the project will restore roughly 1,400 linear feet of the stream on Piney Branch by improving the water quality and providing more nutrients, according to county documents.

“The town will administer the design and construction of the Project. Partnering with the Town on this project will save the county the time and administrative costs that would be incurred if the county were to implement the project under its stormwater program,” according to the county.

Back in 2017, the county board gave $660,000 to the town to partially fund the project. After the town received six bids in December, “the total project estimate has increased by $333,006 due to higher than originally estimated construction bids,” according to the county.

The vote on Tuesday means the county will provide an additional $168,006 to the project, which now has a total estimated cost of $1.6 million.

The project is also being supported by an $825,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, according to county documents.

“The town will reimburse the county funds that are not expended in accordance with the terms of the attached agreement,” according to the county.

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Thursday Morning Notes

Editor’s note: Starting March 24, Tysons Reporter will have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.

Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:

Virginia ABC Reducing Store Hours Friday — “The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority announced Tuesday that all of its 388 stores will be open only from noon to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Stores in the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg, and the counties of James City and York had already been operating on the reduced schedule.” [Inside NoVa]

Fundraiser for Supplies to Sew Masks — A group of local sewing volunteers is looking for monetary donations. “We are guided by hospital directions, and friends and family in the healthcare industry, and we have organized sewing volunteers in the Falls Church, Virginia area.” [GoFundMe]

Fairfax County Gets an “A” For Social Distancing — “On Tuesday, a company called Unacast that collects and analyzes phone GPS location data launched a “Social Distancing Scoreboard” that grades, county by county, which residents are changing behavior at the urging of health officials.” Fairfax County gets an “A,” according to the data. [Washington Post]

Lights Out? — “On the electricity generation side, power plants are still humming and Dominion says procedures are in place to ensure employee safety and continuity.” [ARLnow]

Falls Church Burglary Under Investigation — “Fairfax police are investigating a burglary reported early Monday at the Millennium Care Pharmacy in Falls Church. The incident follows 10 reported break-ins at pharmacies and medical offices between Fairfax and Prince William counties this month.” [Inside NoVa]

Polling Station Moves in Vienna — “The Board also approved a permanent relocation of the polling place for the Nottoway Precinct. This polling place will move from the Hunter House at Nottoway Park, 9601 Courthouse Road, Vienna, to the Marshall Road Elementary School, 730 Marshall Road Southwest, Vienna. The school provides a more accessible and convenient facility for the more than 3,800 registered voters in this precinct.” [Fairfax County]

Metro Closure Prompts Fairfax Connector Changes — “Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) announces that due to the temporary closure of the Mclean and Van Dorn Metrorail Stations beginning Thursday, March 26, 2020, Fairfax Connector bus routes that serve those stations will be re-routed to serve open Metrorail stations.” [Fairfax County]

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Taste of Vienna Canceled Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

The annual Taste of Vienna has been canceled to curb the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

In past years, the festival has brought community members together to try bites of food from various local restaurants, chains and food trucks. The event helps raise money for the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, which hosts the event.

Taste of Vienna announced the cancellation on Facebook on Monday (March 23).

“Our top priority is the safety of all of our participants and attendees, so based on the recommendations of health authorities, it is with a heavy heart that the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department has canceled the Taste of Vienna,” the Facebook post said.

Depending on how long the coronavirus pandemic lasts, the festival might get rescheduled to the fall, the Facebook post added.

Now, the Facebook page is showcasing every day different vendors who had signed up for the festival.

Photo via Taste of Vienna/Facebook

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Inova Opens Coronavirus Clinic Today in Tysons

(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) Inova has opened three coronavirus testing sites today (Wednesday) in Northern Virginia — including one in Tysons.

Fairfax County shared that Inova’s new Respiratory Illness Clinics will evaluate patients with respiratory illness symptoms and offer tests for COVID-19 for people who have test orders from physicians.

“The Fairfax County Health Department is not involved in setting them up or running them, though we are now publicizing them,” a county spokesperson told Tysons Reporter.

More from the announcement:

Upon arrival at the Inova Respiratory Illness Clinic, a clinician will greet the patient at their vehicle to escort the patient into the respiratory clinic for evaluation or to collect samples for a physician-ordered test.

For patients who undergo COVID-19 testing, a UCC nurse will contact those whose results are negative. For patients with positive results, a UCC nurse will coordinate with the patient’s regular physician for notification and further instructions. Patients who are tested can expect results in roughly 4-7 days.

Before visiting any Inova Respiratory Illness Clinic, contact your regular physician for evaluation. For assistance with recommendations, to arrange for a physician appointment, or if you do not have a primary care physician, call 1-855-IMG-DOCS.

Your regular physician can evaluate your symptoms to determine if testing is indicated based on COVID-19 testing criteria and provide a testing order, or refer you to the Inova Respiratory Illness Clinic for evaluation.

The three testing sites are at local Inova Urgent Care Centers in Tysons, North Arlington and Chantilly. The Tysons location is 8357 Leesburg Pike.

The clinics will be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.

The Inova Urgent Care Centers at North Arlington and Tysons will only operate as respiratory illness clinics, while the Chantilly one will remain open to other patients, according to the county.

As of today, Fairfax County now has 77 presumptive positive coronavirus cases — up from 46 yesterday (Tuesday).

The state’s expanding testing capacity, which now includes commercial labs, might be behind the increase of confirmed cases.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

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Firefighters Helping to Hold Blood Drives Around Tysons Area

(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Local volunteer fire and rescue departments have teamed up with Inova Blood Donor Services to hold blood drives.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said that the blood drives will help boost blood supplies, which are “at dangerously low levels and dropping” in the county and U.S.

“Inova Blood Donor Services is taking all precautions as it relates to COVID-19,” according to the post. “There will be plenty of space to spread out and use appropriate social distancing.”

The full list of locations is online. Below is the information for the Tysons-area blood drives:

  • Thursday, March 26: 1-7 p.m. at McLean Volunteer Fire Department (1455 Laughlin Ave)
  • Monday, March 30: 1-7 p.m. at Vienna Volunteer Fire Department (400 Center Street S.) all slots full
  • Wednesday, April 22: noon-7 p.m. at Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department (2148 Gallows Road)

The blood drives will be held in the fire station parking lots. To lower the risk of spreading the virus to firefighters and paramedics, people won’t be able to access the fire stations.

Photo via Facebook

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