If there were any doubts that the novel coronavirus is experiencing a resurgence in Fairfax County, the past week put those to rest.

With an additional 39 cases reported today (Monday), the county is now averaging 36.6 COVID-19 cases per day for the past week — the highest since May 15, when the seven-day average was 37.4 cases, according to Virginia Department of Health data.

The 48 cases recorded last Thursday (July 15) were the most in a single day since May 27, but the 78 cases that came in that day were an anomaly, whereas this appears to be part of a gradual increase in transmission after a month-long lull in June.

The Fairfax Health District, which also includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, has now reported 78,567 COVID-19 cases over the course of the pandemic. 4,161 people have been hospitalized, and four more people have died from the virus since last Monday (July 12), bringing the death toll up to 1,151 people.

Fairfax County is hardly alone in seeing a rise in COVID-19 levels.

Virginia as a whole has gone from a weekly average of 129 cases on June 20 — its lowest since the initial days of the pandemic in March 2020 — to a weekly average of 376 cases today. Nationwide, community transmission remains substantial, particularly across the South, lower Midwest, and Mountain West, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, director of Epidemiology and Population Health with the Fairfax County Health Department, says the more infectious delta variant “is likely a major contributor” to the county’s recent increase in COVID-19 cases.

As of Friday (July 16), the Fairfax Health District has confirmed 13 infections stemming from the delta variant, which hasn’t become as prevalent in Virginia as it is elsewhere in the U.S. In some areas around the country, that variant accounts for more than 70% of new cases.

However, infectious disease experts with Virginia Commonwealth University say “it’s not a matter of if but when” the delta variant will become widespread here.

“The key messages are, we can’t let down our guard, and everyone who isn’t vaccinated should be vaccinated as soon as possible,” Drs. Gonzalo Bearman and Michael Stevens said in a VCU Health news release.

As with the rest of the country, COVID-19 appears to now be mostly spreading in Fairfax County among people who have not been vaccinated. According to the VDH’s dashboard, which is updated every Friday, 99% of the cases, hospitalizations, and deaths recorded in Northern Virginia since Jan. 1, 2021 have involved people who were not fully vaccinated.

“While we can’t predict future case numbers, we do know that the delta variant increases the risk of infection for people who are not vaccinated,” Schwartz said in a statement. “Vaccination is the most important step someone can take to not only reduce their chance of being infected with the delta variant but also protect others in their family and community.”

While demand has started to level out in recent weeks, the Fairfax Health District has administered 1.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 759,473 residents, including 76.2% of all adults. 64.2% of the district’s overall population has received at least one dose.

664,007 residents are now fully vaccinated, which amounts to 67.7% of adults and 56.1% of the total population.

“While we have done well — vaccinating about 3 of every 4 adults in the county — we need to do even better vaccinating people 12 years and older if we are to stop the increase in infections,” Schwartz said.

He encourages people who remain hesitant about getting vaccinated to consult their health care provider or the Fairfax County Health Department, which has a call center at 703-324-7404, to discuss their concerns.

“People for whom getting vaccinated just hasn’t been a priority should be aware of the increase in infections as added motivation to get protected,” Schwartz said. “With over 300 sites in Fairfax County providing vaccinations, many accepting walk-ins, vaccination never has been easier.”

Photo via CDC on Unsplash

While case numbers are still much lower than any other point in the pandemic, Fairfax County has started to see a definite uptick in COVID-19 transmission over the past couple of weeks compared to earlier in the summer.

A month ago, the rate of incoming cases had slowed to the point that the county’s weekly average dipped into negative numbers, but after reporting double digits six out of the past seven days, including 16 new cases today (Monday), the county is now averaging 16.7 cases a day for the week.

The Fairfax Health District, which also encompasses the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, has recorded a total of 78,318 COVID-19 cases. 4,145 residents have been hospitalized by the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 1,147 people have died, including two people since last Tuesday (July 6).

However, a new dashboard launched by the Virginia Department of Health on Friday (July 9) suggests that COVID-19 is now spreading almost exclusively within the state’s unvaccinated population.

According to the dashboard, which will be updated every Friday, 99.6% of the 290,770 cases reported in the Commonwealth so far this year have involved people who were not fully vaccinated. That trend is even more pronounced in Northern Virginia, where 99.8% of the 69,315 cases recorded since Jan. 1 are among people without the protection of a vaccine.

In comparison, there have been just 173 breakthrough cases in Northern Virginia among fully vaccinated people, representing 0.004% of that population.

In addition, 99.6% of the region’s COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths this year have been people who weren’t fully vaccinated. There have been six reported hospitalizations of individuals who were vaccinated and two breakthrough deaths.

Health officials say the data illustrates the overwhelming effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines that are available in the U.S.

“I applaud those who have chosen to protect themselves and the community by getting vaccinated, and we appreciate the work of all who are helping to vaccinate Virginians,” State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver said in a press release last week. “I continue to encourage everyone who is able to get vaccinated to do so.”

Vaccination rates, however, have flattened out as COVID-19 case numbers have fallen and public health restrictions have lifted, pushing officials to adopt a more targeted approach to get the vaccine to people who have not received it yet, either due to hesitancy or a lack of access.

According to the Fairfax County Health Department’s dashboard, 750,982 Fairfax Health District residents — 75.5% of adults and 63.5% of the overall population — have gotten at least one vaccine dose. 658,221 residents — 67.3% of adults and 55.6% of the overall population — are now fully vaccinated.

Virginia has administered more than 9.1 million doses. 59.3% of the state’s population, including 71.1% of people 18 and older, have received at least one dose, and 51.7% of residents, including 62.8% of adults, are fully vaccinated.

Top photo via CDC on Unsplash

With the Fourth of July now in the rearview mirror, community transmission of the novel coronavirus remains low in Fairfax County, but some indicators suggest COVID-19 levels could be on the rise again.

With the addition of four new cases today (Tuesday), the Fairfax Health District has reported exactly 100 new cases over the past week — almost as many as the entire month of June — bringing the total for Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church to 78,204 cases.

The weekly average has ticked back up since mid-June, climbing from zero cases over the preceding week on June 19 to 13.3 cases today, as has the testing positivity rate, which went from a moving seven-day average of 0.7% on June 27 to 0.9% as of July 2, according to Virginia Department of Health data.

These trends reflect the state of the pandemic in Virginia as a whole, which saw May’s steady decline in cases level out in June and now has a weekly average of 180 cases, up from an all-time low of 129 cases on June 20.

Fairfax County’s primary metrics of a 0.9% testing positivity rate and 1.2 new daily cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days are still well within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s thresholds for a low level of community transmission, which is defined as fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate under 5%.

In addition, the severity of cases has been reduced from earlier in the pandemic. The Fairfax Health District reported one hospitalization in the past week for a total of 4,138 people and four deaths for 1,145 deaths overall.

In a blog post published on Friday (July 2), the Fairfax County Health Department attributed the continued low levels of COVID-19 transmission to its ability to identify and isolate individuals who are sick with the respiratory disease and the success of the ongoing vaccination campaign.

According to the FCHD vaccine data dashboard, 743,038 Fairfax Health District residents have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. That is 62.8% of the overall population and three out of every four adults (75.1%). 651,344 residents — 66.5% of adults and 55% of the total population — have been fully vaccinated.

“While we still have work to do and need those unvaccinated to continue to be diligent and wear masks, Fairfax County has made incredible strides in our vaccination efforts,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a newsletter on Friday, reporting that there is only one zip code in the county with a vaccination rate under 70%.

McKay announced that the county flag outside the Fairfax County Government Center has returned to full mast to reflect the end of Virginia’s COVID-19 State of Emergency at the beginning of July. The county’s state of emergency remains in place, however.

County health officials also warn that COVID-19 case levels could surge, particularly among people who have not been vaccinated, due to the spread of variants. The Delta variant first detected in India is considered the biggest current threat.

As of July 2, Northern Virginia had recorded 596 infections caused by variants of concern, including 17 cases confirmed to come from the Delta variant. That variant, which has proven especially contagious, now accounts for more than one in every five cases nationwide, according to the FCHD.

The county health department says studies suggest that the COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized in the U.S. “remain very effective against the Delta variant.”

“Vaccination remains the best tool in preventing a Delta surge,” Fairfax County Director of Epidemiology and Population Health Director Dr. Benjamin Schwartz said in a statement. “This virus can take advantage of any cracks in our defenses. For those who have not yet gotten vaccinated, I urge you to do so. Your actions will keep us on the road to recovery from the pandemic.”

Fairfax County residents can find sites offering COVID-19 vaccinations through vaccines.gov or the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).

A June that generally provided reason for optimism comes to a close with the Fairfax Health District almost doubling its COVID-19 case total for the month over the past week.

The district, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, has added 103 new cases since June 1 for an all-time total of 78,104 cases, but 66 of those cases came in the last seven days, including four today (Monday), according to Virginia Department of Health data.

However, the district’s hospitalization total stayed flat from last Monday (June 21) at 4,137 people.

VDH data shows that two people were hospitalized by the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in the past week — one county resident and one Falls Church City resident — but both jursidictions also subtracted a case in the same time period, resulting in a net-zero increase.

Five more people died from COVID-19 in the last week, bringing the district’s overall death total up to 1,141 people.

An Associated Press analysis of national health data from May found that just 0.1% of new COVID-19 hospitalizations and 0.8% of deaths were people who had been fully vaccinated, suggesting that the mortality rate would now be almost zero if everyone eligible for vaccination got the shot.

The Fairfax County Health Department did not return Tysons Reporter’s query about whether the county is seeing the same trend of unvaccinated people accounting for nearly all hospitalizations and deaths by publication time.

As of this morning, 1.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to Fairfax Health District residents. 737,991 residents — 74.7% of adults and 62.4% of the total population — have gotten at least one shot, and 644,361 residents — 66% of adults and 54.4% of the total population — are fully vaccinated, according to the FCHD dashboard.

Statewide, about half (50.5%) of Virginia’s population is now fully vaccinated, including 61.4% of people 18 and older. 70.9% of adults or 58.7% of the overall population have received at least one vaccine dose.

In addition to lowering the risk of hospitalization and death, the COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for use in the U.S. can provide protection from variants of the virus that could spread more easily or cause more severe illness, according to VDH.

VDH announced last Tuesday (June 22) that it has added the Delta variant to its Varients of Concern dashboard, which tracks mutations that are considered to pose a greater risk to human health.

The Delta variant contributed to India’s devastating second wave of the pandemic and has been linked to surges elsewhere, including the United Kingdom and Australia, leading some countries to reimpose public health restrictions.

As of Friday (June 25), when the dashboard was last updated, Virginia had recorded 48 cases of the delta variant, including 15 in Northern Virginia, but VDH says the actual number of cases is likely higher since not all positive samples are tested to determine the strain of the virus.

“To protect yourself and others, get vaccinated for COVID-19,” VDH said in its news release. “Until you are fully vaccinated, continue wearing a mask correctly, stay at least six feet from others outside of your household, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and wash your hands often…The best way to stop variant strains from developing in the first place is to stop the spread of the virus.”

Photo via CDC on Unsplash

Hospitality workers looking to return to their jobs and hotels trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic are seeing signs of progress in an industry wrecked by shutdown orders and travel disruptions.

Fairfax County’s new PIVOT grant program is prioritizing grant money for hotels, while also assisting other hard-hit businesses with $25 million in federal COVID-19 relief money. The program received 581 fully completed applications — including 15 in the lodging category — on Wednesday (June 23), its first day accepting applications.

Applications will be accepted through July 9, and the order they are received has no bearing on priority. But if funds are limited, lodging businesses with at least 10 rooms will be addressed first before a lottery then determines which companies in need will get money.

Inns of Virginia Falls Church Manager Michael Riddlemoser said he was unaware of the PIVOT grant or whether his company is applying for the money but felt it could be useful to try. He said his 32-room hotel is around 50% full, down from 75 to 80% before March 2020.

While some travelers come specifically for Tysons or business in Virginia, declining travel to D.C. has been a blow to Riddlemoser’s lodging business. As hotels in Washington fill up, it brings a trickle-down effect that boosts locations like his.

“We just need more people coming into town,” he said. “D.C. [needs] to get full for us to start getting the D.C. business.”

Managers at nearby hotels also reported being around half capacity. One said many furloughed staff are inquiring about when they can return, and three wedding parties stayed there recently.

A study commissioned by the Tysons Partnership found that the region’s hotel business could rebound by 2025.

“The COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated the hospitality sector has not spared Tysons hotels, which have seen revenues drop by 64%,” the study said. “Still, this is a modest decline relative to major regional competitors.”

The study noted that Tysons is expected to add another 478 hotel rooms this year with the completion of The Archer in Scotts Run and the Watermark in Capital One Center. Those new hotels say they’ll open in late summer and October, respectively.

The leisure and hospitality sector has lost 3.1 million jobs during the pandemic, representing over a third of all unemployment in the U.S., according to an American Hotel & Lodging Association report from February.

The report said the industry lost over 17,000 jobs in Virginia last year and was projected to lose over 13,000 jobs this year.

UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents about 7,200 hospitality workers across the DC region, had only 2% of members working last July, but the employment rate has bounced back to 25% in Northern Virginia, according to Benjy Cannon, the union’s director of communications.

Cannon attributes recent gains over the last eight weeks to vaccinations and domestic travel.

But the union believes pre-pandemic occupancy levels won’t return until international travel and long-term business travel returns, Cannon said. With unemployment benefits set to expire in September, that could lead the group to press legislators for changes.

“By late 2023, 2024, the industry is slated to recover stronger than it was in 2019,” Cannon said. “So, while this is an unfortunate bump in the road and our members are certainly mourning over it, we do still think that this region, this market, can recover in a really robust fashion and expect it to, even if it’s still a few years away.”

Photo via Febrian Zakaria on Unsplash

There were 14 new COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District today (Monday), as reported by the Fairfax County Health Department.

Even a month ago, that total would’ve been on the low end for a single day, but in June, when daily case counts have been more likely to dip into negative numbers than to enter double digits, it’s an anomaly, representing the biggest influx of new cases since 22 came in on May 30.

After adding 25 new cases in the past week, including 11 cases just last Wednesday (June 16), Fairfax County is now averaging three cases over the past seven days, the highest weekly average since June 8, according to the Virginia Department of Health dashboard.

Three people died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in the past week, and six more people have been hospitalized, bringing the respective totals up to 1,137 deaths and 4,137 hospitalizations. There have been 78,038 total cases in the Fairfax Health District since March 2020.

Even so, it has now been three weeks since Virginia lifted all capacity limitations over Memorial Day weekend, which typically brings an uptick in travel and social gatherings, and at least in Fairfax, the COVID-19 surge that followed other holidays during the pandemic has not emerged, likely due to increased vaccinations.

As of today, 725,862 Fairfax Health District residents, including people from the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That is 73.7% of adults and 61.3% of the district’s total population.

628,151 residents — 64.8% of adults and 53.1% of the population overall — are fully vaccinated, according to the county health department.

The Fairfax Health District is outpacing Virginia as a whole, which hit the 70% mark today for adults who have gotten at least one vaccine dose, making it the 16th state to meet the July 4 target set by President Joe Biden, Gov. Ralph Northam announced.

“Virginia has reached a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19,” Northam said. “Thanks to the millions of Virginians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, the virus is in retreat, our economy is growing, and we are closer to putting this pandemic behind us.”

According to VDH, 4.9 million people — 57.8% of the overall population — have received at least one dose, and 4.2 million Virginians are fully vaccinated, which is 60.3% of adults and 49.3% of the state’s population.

With the demand for vaccinations slowing, Virginia has started to close its mass vaccine sites in favor of more mobile, targeted clinics. This will be the last week of operations for the community vaccination center at Tysons Corner Center, as it is scheduled to close on Saturday (June 26).

Until then, the site is accepting walk-ins from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.

Individuals 12 and older can register for an appointment there or at other Fairfax County clinics through the Vaccine Administration Management System. Other providers can be located through Vaccines.gov.

Top photo via CDC on Unsplash

The Fairfax Health District has officially surpassed the halfway mark for COVID-19 vaccinations.

According to the Fairfax County Health Department’s data dashboard, 50.9% of all Fairfax Health District residents have now received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That amounts to 602,101 residents, including 63.1% of all people 18 and older.

713,791 people living in the district, which includes Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, have gotten at least one vaccine dose. That is 72.7% of adults and 60.3% of the total population.

The county announced on Friday (June 11) that its vaccine clinic at the Fairfax County Government Center is now accepting walk-ins from noon to 4 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The clinic will be closed this Friday (June 18), since county employees will have the day off in observance of Juneteenth. However, it will be open on Saturday, which will mark the 156th anniversary of the day when the last enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned that the Civil War had ended.

Walk-in appointments are also available at the Tysons Corner Center mass vaccination site, which is now open until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That state-run clinic will close on June 26.

The Tysons Community Vaccination Center and county health department clinics appointments can be scheduled through the Vaccine Administration Management System. People can find appointments at other locations, including grocery stores, pharmacies, and private health care providers, through vaccines.gov.

Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 infections coming in has slowed to the point where the Fairfax Health District actually has fewer total cases now than it did when Tysons Reporter provided an update last Monday (June 7), according to Virginia Department of Health data.

That doesn’t mean no new cases have been reported, as six cases were recorded on Thursday (June 10).

However, 20 cases have been subtracted over the past week, including six today (Monday), which the county health department has said happens when there are duplicates or cases that actually occurred in another district.

As a result, Fairfax County is now averaging -2.9 cases per day for the past seven days.

As of today, 78,013 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the district compared to 78,034 cases a week ago. One more person has died from the disease transmitted by the novel coronavirus, and 10 more people have been hospitalized, bringing the totals up to 1,134 deaths and 4,131 hospitalizations.

Fairfax County is developing a new grant program intended to help small businesses and nonprofits recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but in a change from previous relief efforts, this program will first award money to hotels before determining recipients in other industries by lottery.

If it’s approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday) as scheduled, the proposed PIVOT Business Recovery Grant program will be supported by $25 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March.

“The estimated 48,200 jobs lost in Fairfax County through December 2020 were heavily concentrated in the food service, hospitality and retail sectors,” county staff said in the agenda for today’s meeting, which starts at noon.

Staff added that approximately 50% of job losses in the county in 2020 were lodging, food services, retail, arts, entertainment, and other services.

But why hotels should get first dibs on the new money over restaurants and other affected businesses remains unclear. A county spokesperson says it’s a draft and subject to change.

The background provided in the agenda item does note that Northern Virginia’s lodging industry has been struggling in comparison to the rest of the state:

According to the global hospitality data firm STR, Virginia lodging businesses experienced a 2020 monthly average 50.5 percent decrease compared to 2019 — totaling more than $2.2 billion in lost revenue. Northern Virginia is the only region in Virginia that continues to decline and as of March 2021 has the lowest revenue per room in the Commonwealth.

The plan says hotels with at least 10 rooms will be eligible for a grant. Businesses in the program could get the money if they have 500 employees or less and their principal place of business is in the county.

Hotels are not the only industry hit hard by the pandemic. An International Monetary Fund report shows that in the U.S., the pandemic at one point led to a crash in restaurant bookings as well as steep drops in flying and driving.

The new business assistance plan comes after Fairfax County distributed around $52.6 million to small businesses and nonprofits last year through the Fairfax Relief Initiative to Support Employers (RISE) program. Recipients had to have less than 50 employees across all locations.

The RISE program, which helped over 4,800 recipients, dedicated at least 30% of the money to women-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses, which ended up with 72% of the funding, according to the county.

That aligns with the findings of a consultant report completed in January that said the county should target further assistance to help those most affected by the pandemic. It detailed how low-income and minority households faced greater difficulties in the workforce, along with women, who have been held back by affordable child care challenges.

Photo courtesy Febrian Zakaria/Unsplash

While a day still hasn’t gone by without at least one new COVID-19 case since March 20, 2020, Fairfax County’s daily count stayed in the single digits during the entire first week of June, the first such stretch of the pandemic.

With the addition of eight cases today (Monday), the county has recorded 35 new cases total over the past week and is now averaging just five new cases per day for the past seven days — the lowest weekly average since March 24, 2020, when it was at 4.9 cases.

The Fairfax Health District, including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, has now reported 78,034 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, according to the Fairfax County Health Department. 4,121 people have been hospitalized by the respiratory disease, and 1,133 people have died, five of them this month.

To commemorate all of the people who have died in the Northern Virginia region, the Fairfax County Government Center will host a COVID-19 Remembrance Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (June 9).

With case levels declining, the county health department announced on Friday (June 4) that it will no longer operate community COVID-19 testing sites, though residents can still get a test through pharmacies, urgent care centers, and other health care providers. The county will also provide testing at its health department clinics for people who exhibit symptoms.

Fairfax County health officials say the slowing spread of the novel coronavirus is the result of rising COVID-19 vaccinations.

“We are not seeing the level of COVID-19 cases compared to a few months ago and are attributing this trend to the number of residents who are getting vaccinated,” FCHD Public Health Emergency Management Coordinator Jesse Habourn said. “However, we are still seeing transmission of COVID-19 in our community so residents who need testing should utilize the vast number of options available in our community or make an appointment at one of our clinic sites.”

701,553 Fairfax Health District residents have now gotten at least one vaccine dose. That amounts to 77.6% of people 18 and older and 59.3% of the district’s total population.

Notably, FCHD’s vaccine data dashboard shows that at least 50% of all eligible age groups have received at least one dose, ranging from 55.8% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 up to 92.8% of adults between 75 and 84 years old.

Overall, 48.7% of Fairfax Health District residents — 575,878 people — have been fully vaccinated, including 63.7% of adults.

While thousands of vaccinations are still administered per day in Fairfax County, demand has started to level out in recent weeks, as shown by the chart below. In response, the Virginia Department of Health plans to close its mass vaccination site at Tysons Corner Center on June 26 as it pivots to smaller, more mobile clinics.

Photo via CDC on Unsplash; charts via Virginia Department of Health, Fairfax County Health Department

A federal relief program that recently ended contributed over $1.1 billion to the Tysons area to help workers.

The money came through the CARES Act, the COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress in 2020 that created the Paycheck Protection Program. In the area, it helped around 1,700 businesses, nonprofits, and sole proprietors with forgivable loans of $150,000 and more.

According to data from the Small Business Administration, which oversaw the program, the Tysons-area businesses and nonprofits that landed the most money in terms of a single award were:

• Digital Intelligence Systems (8270 Greensboro Dr.): the temp agency supported 500 jobs with a $10 million loan, the most that could be received
• Team Washington (1600 Spring Hill Rd.): the local Domino’s Pizza franchisee received $7.9 million for 500 jobs
• Favor TechConsulting (8075 Leesburg Pike): the information technology contractor got $7.9 million for 437 jobs
• SourceAmerica (8401 Old Courthouse Rd.): the nonprofit, which helps connect people with disabilities to jobs, received nearly $7.3 million for 397 jobs
• SecTek (1650 Tysons Blvd.): the private security guard firm got $7.1 million for 500 jobs

Businesses that received less than $150,000 weren’t included in the $1.1 billion figure that Tysons Reporter calculated using SBA data. Other businesses may have also received multiple awards but aren’t part of the list of top awards for an individual loan.

The money was given in the form of forgivable loans. To be forgiven, at least 60% of the money must have gone to payroll.

Details regarding businesses that received the money are available through online databases, such as ProPublica and the SBA. The program ended Monday (May 31).

“The Paycheck Protection Program provided over 8.5 million small businesses and nonprofits the lifeline they needed to survive during a once-in-[a]-generation economic crisis,” SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a news release on Tuesday (June 1). “I’ve heard story after story from small business owners across the country about how PPP funds helped them keep the lights on, pay their employees — and gave them hope.”

The PPP rollout came with some controversy. After reports showed that some loans went to large corporations, hundreds of companies returned the money. The SBA says that 96% of the loans went to businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

Companies that received an initial PPP loan and met other criteria were able to get a second loan. The average amount awarded this year by the program overall was $42,000.