With Covid-19 cases rising and cold and flu season on the horizon, schools must focus on common-sense cleaning and disinfecting practices if they want a safe return, the American Cleaning Institute says.

On Nov. 16, Fairfax County Public Schools will open in-person instruction for Early Head Start, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and special-education students receiving intensive supports and attending center-based programs, according to an update sent to parents on Oct. 23. In-person cohort learning will begin on Nov. 30 for grades 1-2 and special-education students in career centers.

In partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ACI is asking schools and families to encourage children to wash their hands with soap at school and at home. Hand hygiene is a foundational habit for slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus and seasonal illnesses like influenza, especially in schools.

“It’s so simple and so important, especially at schools, as they plan to reopen,” said Brian Sansoni, the Senior Vice President of Communication, Outreach and Membership at the American Cleaning Institute.

But among adults in the United States, hand-washing rates are down compared to the start of the pandemic, according to a recent survey by the ACI. Parents play as big a role as schools in forming hand hygiene habits, Sansoni said.

“Kids see what parents do and don’t do,” he said. “Reinforcing habits at home is really important for setting examples.”

Schools must be extra diligent in communicating to parents the importance of hand-washing habits at home. Schools must also be hyper-vigilant in restocking soap and hand-sanitizer dispensers, and providing supervision and encouraging hand-washing before eating and after restroom use.

“Where the extra care is required, hopefully there is communication between parents and school staff,” Sansoni said.

Another common-sense practice is disinfecting high-touch hot-spots daily. These zones include desks, chairs, tables, countertops, knobs, light-switches, classroom electronics, toilets, and drinking fountains.

Coincidentally, the COVID-19 pandemic hit as the ACI was planning to revamp its Healthy Schools, Healthy People initiative, Sansoni said. This year, the institute was preparing to focus more on hand hygiene and cleaning as a way of reducing absenteeism caused by seasonal illnesses.

“Once we get past this, hopefully, we don’t take our foot off the pedal when it comes to common-sense hygiene,” Sansoni said. “The cold and flu happen every year, and there are countless school days lost due to infection among students and staff.”

Pre-pandemic, the ACI spoke with school nurses across the nation and learned that nurses, at the front lines of school health, face an uphill battle with hygiene education.

Some nurses were frustrated at the lack of soap and cleaning materials, Sansoni said. In other areas, nurses needed their school districts and systems to encourage everyone to exemplify good behaviors.

“They have a tough job,” Sansoni said. “They try to emphasize this year round.”

Photo via the CDC

Updated at 9:45 a.m. on 11/4/2020 — The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says the vehicle crash on Hunter Mill Road at Water Falls Lane in Vienna involved a dump truck that rolled down an embankment. Crews responded to the incident at approximately 1:18 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday).

Updated at 2:15 p.m. on 11/3/2020 — Fairfax County police say Hunter Mill Road has now reopened.

A vehicle crash that occurred before 2 p.m. today shut down Hunter Mill Road at Water Falls Lane in the Wolf Trap area of Vienna.

While the incident is still under police investigation, Fairfax County police spokesperson Tara Gerhard says that the crash involved a single vehicle, possibly a truck that turned over on the road. One person has been taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash has closed Hunter Mill Road in both directions, and the Fairfax County Police Department is advising drivers to find an alternate route.

“It looks like the road is going to be tied up for a little while,” Gerhard said.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Hunter Mill Road is closed in both directions at Water Falls Lane in Vienna due to a crash. Please use an alternate route. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/biPsfNOGew

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) November 3, 2020

Updated at 2:55 p.m. — Voter turnout in the City of Falls Church has now topped 80% with residents turning in 8,573 ballots total as of 2 p.m., according to city elections officials.

The city is seeing its highest voter turnout ever with this year’s election easily surpassing the 7,860 votes cast in 2016, which previously saw the most number of votes, according to David Bjerke, the director of elections and general registrar for the City of Falls Church.

The 87.4% of active registered voters who cast ballots in 2012 remains the city’s high watermark for the percent of voters participating in a general election, but with 80.1% of voters having already cast their ballots by 2 p.m., 2020 could still potentially set a new record in terms of percentage as well as numbers.

2pm
CAP: 7552 (added mail and drop box)
Ward 1: 388
Ward 2: 318
Ward 3: 279

8573 ballots for 80.1%

4/5 of the City has voted. Less than 5 hours to break the record.

— Dave Bjerke (@davebjerke) November 3, 2020

The vast majority of ballots that both Falls Church City and Fairfax County have received so far were cast before Election Day after early voters turned out in droves, thanks to state legislation permitting no-excuse absentee voting took effect this year.

The City of Falls Church has received 7,552 absentee ballots, including ones delivered by mail and dropboxes, while in Fairfax County, more than 404,000 votes were cast early, according to county election officials.

As of 2 p.m., Fairfax County was seeing an estimated 16.1% voter turnout for Election Day. With absentee ballots constituting about 51% of the county’s voting population, that means 67.1% of the county’s 787,000 registered voters have cast ballots in this year’s general election.

Despite concerns about voter intimidation in the lead-up to Election Day, Fairfax County public information officer Brian Worthy said this morning that the county has not experienced any issues with voting at its 244 precincts, and turnout has been “light as expected” due to the high levels of early voters.

“There are no lines that I’ve heard of, although I witnessed a very small one around 6 a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center,” Worthy said. “No lines now and very few voters.”

2 p.m. Turnout Update
✔️ Today: 16.1%
✔️ Early Voting: 51% (404,000 votes)
✔️ Estimated Total: 67.1% of 787,000 registered voters in Fairfax County

Vote or return mailed ballots by 7 p.m.#vote #vote2020 #electionday #election2020 #2020election pic.twitter.com/GbRq3OMrCK

— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) November 3, 2020

Photo via Fairfax County government/Twitter

The Town of Vienna Police Department collected 309 pounds of expired or unused medications on Oct. 24 as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s 19^th National Drug Take Back Initiative.

That is a noticeable increase from the department’s previous two drug take-back events. Vienna citizens dropped off 234 pounds of expired and unused medications for an event in April 2019 and 281 pounds for an event last October, Vienna Police Department public information officer MPO Juan Vazquez says.

For this year’s October drug take-back day, the Vienna Police Department set up a collection point for citizens to drop off old, expired, unused, or unwanted medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The site was placed in the front parking lot of the department’s Center Street station instead of inside to allow for social distancing.

The DEA typically organizes two take-back days every year in an effort to combat prescription drug abuse, but concerns about COVID-19 led the federal agency to cancel this year’s scheduled April event.

“Many citizens volunteer feedback and said they were really appreciative of us hosting this event again,” Vasquez said.

More than 4,000 local and state law enforcement agencies participated in the 2020 National Drug Take Back Initiative, including 140 agencies in Virginia that collected 25,706 pounds of drugs at 179 sites, according to the DEA.

The Fairfax County Police Department collected 1,696 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications on Oct. 24, including 102 pounds from the McLean District Station, which had the second-lowest total this year after collecting the second-highest amount during last year’s National Drug Take Back Day.

In addition to hosting eight collection sites for this year’s one-day initiative, Fairfax County now has permanent drug take back boxes at each of its eight police stations, and community members can pick up drug disposal kits from the county’s health department offices.

The county accepts prescription medications and ointments, over-the-counter medications, and medications for pets, but needles, liquids of any kind, illegal drugs, non-prescription ointments and lotions, aerosol cans, and inhalers are prohibited from the collection boxes.

“This important initiative addresses vital safety and public health issues,” the FCPD says. “Unused or expired over the counter or prescription medicine left unsecured can be prone to misuse and may contribute to overdoses and accidental poisonings.”

Information about safely disposing of expired or unwanted medication, including a map of all the permanent drug collection boxes in the Fairfax County area, can be found on the Fairfax County Health Department website.

Alexandria coffee shop Java Loco is planning to open a new location in Tysons starting this weekend.

Java Loco is scheduled to open on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7516 Leesburg Pike in the Tysons Station shopping center.

“We can’t wait to serve customers at our new location in Tysons Station,” Nga Ho, owner of Java Loco, said in a press release. “We always love inviting customers into our relaxing space and we’re so appreciative of the customers who have supported us with their business over the years. We’re so excited to become a part of the Falls Church community.”

 The location will be a 1,385-square-foot space with gourmet house coffee, Italian espresso, espresso-based drinks, and exotic drinks like Cuban or Vietnamese coffee. The beverage menu also includes a selection of decaf items, fruit smoothies and bubble tea from Ocha Bubble Tea in Annandale, which is also owned by Ho.

The location is planned to offer a limited breakfast and lunch sandwich selection, along with bakery items like muffins, croissants and pastries.

The Tysons Station location of Java Loco will be open from Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Photo via Java Loco/Facebook

After long lines for early voting, Election Date is finally here. so far, the county has unofficially reported more than 399,600 votes cast. County officials say this is 70 percent of the total votes cast in the 2016 presidential election and 50 percent of registered county voters have already cast their ballots. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know before you head to the polls today.

Casting Your Ballot

All polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Fairfax County. An acceptable form of identification is required. Voters are encouraged to wear masks or face coverings and remain socially distanced using markers placed outside polling places to help voters stand six feet apart. Note that several Fairfax County Park Authority polling sites will be open only to voters today, including the Spring Hill RECenter in McLean and the Oak Marr RECenter in Oakton.

Voters can return mail-in ballots at a ballot drop-off box, which will be available at every polling place today (Tuesday). A 24-hour box outside the Fairfax County Government Center will be available until 7 p.m. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3. If you plan to use a drop-off box, make sure the “B” envelope is inside your returning mail envelope. Further instructions, which will help the county process ballots faster, are available on the county’s website.

What’s On Your Ballot

The following is a breakdown of what to expect on your ballot. Sample ballots are available online.

President and Vice President

• Joseph R. Biden, President and Kamala D. Harris, Vice President: Democrat
• Donald J. Trump, President and Michael R. Pence, Vice President – Republican
• Jo Jorgensen, President and Jeremy F. “Spike” Cohen, Vice President – Libertarian

Member, United States Senate

• Mark R. Warner – Democrat
• Daniel M. Gade – Republican

Member House of Representatives, 11th District

• Gerry E. “Gerry” Connolly – Democrat
• Manga A. Anantatmula – Republican

The City of Fairfax

City residents will vote in a special election to fill one seat on the city council that was vacated when longtime Councilmember Daniel Sze died from cancer in July. Tysons Reporter interviewed each of the three candidates vying for the council seat:

• Simone Pass Tucker
• Debora Schanz-Hiscott
• Joshua Shokoor

Constitutional Amendments

Amendment #1 proposes creating a redistricting commission with eight General Assembly members and eight state citizens to draw congressional and state legislative districts. The General Assembly would vote on the new maps without proposing any changes. If the commission fails to draw districts or the General Assembly fails to enact districts by set deadlines, the responsibility of drawing districts would fall on the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Amendment #2 is written as follows: Should an automobile or pickup truck that is owned and used primarily by or for a veteran of the United States armed forces or the Virginia National Guard who has a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability be free from state and local taxation?

Bond Questions

Public libraries: Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt, borrow money, and issue bonds in addition to the public library facilities bonds previously authorized, in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $90,000,000 for the purpose of providing funds, with any other available funds, to finance the cost to provide public library facilities, including the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, and equipment of existing and additional library facilities and the acquisition of necessary land?

Transportation bonds: Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt, borrow money, and issue bonds, in addition to the transportation improvements and facilities bonds previously authorized, in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $160,000,000 for the purpose of financing Fairfax County’s share, under the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact, of the cost of constructing, reconstructing, improving, and acquiring transportation improvements and facilities, including capital costs of land, transit facilities, rolling stock, and equipment in the Washington metropolitan area?

Community health and human services bonds: Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt, borrow money, and issue bonds, in addition to the human services facilities bonds previously authorized, in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $79,000,000 for the purpose of providing funds, with any other available funds, to finance the cost to provide community health and human services facilities, including the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, and equipment of existing and additional community health and human services facilities and the acquisition of necessary land?

Parks and parks facilities bonds: Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt, borrow money, and issue bonds, in addition to the parks and park facilities bonds previously authorized, in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $112,000,000 for the following purposes: (i) $100,000,000 principal amount to finance the Fairfax County Park Authority’s cost to acquire, construct, reconstruct, develop, and equip additional parks and park facilities, to preserve open-space land, and to develop and improve existing parks and park facilities; and (ii) $12,000,000 principal amount to finance Fairfax County’s contribution to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to acquire, construct, reconstruct, develop, and equip parks and park facilities?

Other Items of Note

Voters should call the Fairfax County Police Department’s non-emergency number at 703-691-2131 to report any disruptions to voting. The following activities are prohibited by state law:

• Loitering, campaigning or congregating within 40 feet of a polling place’s entrance
• Using a loudspeaker within 300 feet of a polling place
• Falsely assuming or exercising the powers, duties or functions of any county, city, state, or federal law-enforcement officer.

Results will be available on the Virginia Department of Elections’ website. Absentee ballots may be accepted until noon on Friday, Nov. 6.

Developer KETTLER announced the day before Halloween that it has broken ground on the next stage of an ambitious development plan called The Mile.

The Mile is an approved project that will transform a 45-acre area of underutilized space northwest of Tysons Galleria. Brentford, the second phase of the development, will be a 411-unit mid-rise apartment community advertised as being in walking distance from major employers, world-class shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.

“As a business operator in Tysons, our company has felt the positive impact that redevelopments have had on our community,” KETTLER President Cynthia Fisher said. “We’re thrilled to be leading this transformational project in partnership with PS Business Parks as we begin construction on Brentford at The Mile.”

In a press release, KETTLER states that the Brentford apartments will offer “stylish, nature-inspired floor plans, with highly amenitized interior spaces and larger units such as 3 bedroom apartments and 2-story townhomes.”

With its first units expected to be completed in spring 2022, Brentford will be located near Highgate at the Mile, an apartment building with Republik Coffee Bar on the ground floor (7915 Jones Branch Drive) that represented the first part of KETTLER’s plan for The Mile.

During the project’s approval process, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors praised The Mile for featuring a natural, 10-acre green space around Brentford and Highgate at The Mile. The first stage of the plans includes a publicly accessible dog park at the location.

“Residents of The Mile will feel the ease of suburban living, just minutes from the ‘Bustling Boro’ and Tysons Corner Center,” KETTLER said.

Image via KETTLER

Updated at 9:30 a.m. on 11/4/2020 — The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday (Nov. 3)

• Election Day —  6 a.m. to 7 p.m. — A seat on the Falls Church City Council is being contested, along with the U.S. presidential and Congressional races. To find your polling location, use this link. Voters must be in line by 7 p.m. to vote. Voters must also wear a face covering inside the polling locations.

Wednesday (Nov. 4)

• Basket Weaving Crafternoon (Online) — The Mary Riley Styles Public Library will go live on its Facebook page to discuss basketry from cultures around the world, the website said. Participants can pick up Grab and Go Kits until Tuesday (Nov. 3) while supplies last at the library at 120 N. Virginia Ave.

Thursday (Nov. 5)

• The New Yorker Book Discussion Group (Online) — 2-3 p.m. — Falls Church’s The New Yorker Discussion Group meets on the first Thursday of every month. This month, the group will meet via Zoom to discuss The Political Scene: The After Party by Nicholas Leamann. Email Pete Sullivan, [email protected], to request the Zoom link.
• Author Book Discussion (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — Falls Church City is also hosting an online talk with author Ilya Sharpio, who will discuss his recent book Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America’s Highest Court via Zoom. Email Marshall Webster, [email protected], to request the Zoom link.

Friday (Nov. 6)

• Meet the Mayor — Meet and chat with Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert on a topic of your choosing on the first Friday each month at various times and locations around Town, the website said. This month’s meeting will take place at Meadow Lane Park from 9-10:30 a.m.

Sunday (Nov. 8)

• Pet Adoption Event — 12-3 p.m. at Chico’s Natural Pet Market (6349 A Columbia Pike) — The store will host an adoption event for its pets. Potential adopters can meet  dogs who are searching for their new families, hear their stories, and talk with our volunteers who will be happy to answer your questions, the website said.

Photo via Chico’s Natural Pet Market/Facebook

Like many other parts of Virginia and the U.S., Fairfax County is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases as the weather gets cooler.

The county has a rolling seven-day average of 133.9 cases as of Nov. 2, the highest since mid-June when an average of 137 cases was recorded on June 12.

After adding 937 cases over the past seven days starting on Oct. 27, including 167 new cases just on Nov. 2, Fairfax County now has a total of 24,642 COVID-19 cases and 2,317 hospitalizations.

The latest data from the Virginia Department of Health shows that the Fairfax Health District, which includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church as well as Fairfax County, now has a total of 620 COVID-19 deaths, with 605 deaths in Fairfax County, eight in Fairfax City, and seven in Falls Church.

Fairfax County’s case rate of 2,120 cases per 100,000 people is roughly in line with those of surrounding localities, surpassing Arlington (2,012) but remaining under the City of Alexandria (2,718) despite its significantly larger population.

Virginia’s northern region as a whole saw a steady upward trend in cases throughout October, but it has become more pronounced over the past week, when the region’s seven-day moving average rose from 234.3 cases on Oct. 25 to 322.3 cases today.

While that still falls far short of the 685.3 seven-day average recorded when the pandemic was peaking in Northern Virginia at the end of May, the upward trajectory reflects an overall surge in reported COVID-19 cases throughout Virginia.

The 1,306 seven-day moving average that Virginia reported today is the highest that the state has ever seen since the novel coronavirus first emerged in the Commonwealth in March.

The regional and statewide climb in COVID-19 cases will continue to draw scrutiny as Fairfax County Public Schools plans to bring more students back into physical classrooms throughout November.

FCPS started returning small cohorts of students to in-person instruction at the beginning of October, and students in early Head Start through second grade, along with students in special education and students with intensive support needs, are all tentatively scheduled to return to school by Nov. 30.

117 employees and 26 students have reported contracting COVID-19 to principals, program managers, or administrators since early September, according to a weekly COVID-19 case dashboard compiled by FCPS.

Because the case count is based on self-reporting, FCPS notes that the data “should be interpreted with caution…and may not be aligned to future epidemiological investigations.”

Staff Photo by Jay Westcott; image via Virginia Department of Health

It’s was an unconventional Halloween to cap off an unconventional year for the McLean Community Center, an organization dedicated to establishing a sense of community a time of social isolation.

During a meeting last week, the MCC leadership discussed the Halloween activities that were ongoing at the McLean Old Firehouse Center.

Terri Markwart said that the event had been a success with many local middle school kids who were looking for a chance to meet up with their friends in costume. The event had over 200 attendees, Markwart said.

“Parents who came with their kids were appreciative,” Markwart said, “and the kids said the haunted house was fantastic.”

Other members of the MCC expressed similar approval of the work the Old Firehouse had done.

“It was a well run event,” said Barbara Zamora. “There was a line at one point, but everyone was spaced.”

The group also discussed the future of the McLean Project for the Arts with Lori Carbonneau, executive director of the MPA.

“We’re doing virtual openings and artist talks,” Carbonneau said, “[and] bringing people into the gallery in groups of six.”

Carbonneau said engagement has gone up over the last few months, which she attributed to the group working largely with people with disabilities, elderly residents, and folks who are otherwise homebound. As a result, the group had its second highest attended Artfest this year in terms of website traffic.

“For our first rodeo, we’re feeling pretty good about it,” Carbonneau said.

The success came in spire of a 95% drop in normal corporate sponsorship, but Carbonneau said the group was able to put the event together with community support. Carbonneau described artist sales as “not great” but adequate.

Unsurprisingly, the group also announced that the annual WinterFest parade has been cancelled. This is the second year in a row WinterFest has been cancelled, as it was cancelled last year due to predicted rain.