It has now been four months since the State of Emergency was declared in Virginia for the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re still waiting to see how well the Commonwealth has done to stop the spread. Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker and other city officials held a press conference on July 13 to reinforce the need for vigilance. The first part of the story features words from Eddie Harris, Stacy Washington, Dr. Jeanita Richardson, and Dr. Denise Bonds. The second part goes back to the July 1 Albemarle Board of Supervisors meeting where there was a discussion about how the county will use $9.5 million in CARES Act federal funding.
"After a few months spending trying to figure out how we protect each other, I think we all understand that we at some point have reached a fatigue around this COVID-19 virus. There have been a lot of mixed messages from state, federal and even here at the local level and it's been a very confusing time to try to figure out how to keep yourself and your family safe." - Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker, July 13, 2020
"COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that spreads in the air, and can cause breathing and serious health complications including death. Contrary to what some people may think, people of all ages have got the virus. So everyone is at risk. Some people have no symptoms and pass it on to others who get very sick or die. Testing for the virus after being exposed might not register a positive test for between two and 14 days. And increasing cases could lead down to shutting down businesses again and force officials to have another stay at home order." - Eddie Harris, July 13, 2020
"I know that there has been some concern about what happens when you make complaints about an institution or a business that is not complying with the mask order, those complaints do come to us at the Health Department. To date we've had 180 complaints almost all of them related to individuals not wearing masks in restaurants or shops. Our policy right now is to inform and educate for the first few times we get a complaint about a particular organization. If the complaint continues and its an agency that we are responsible for regulating, we do have the authority to issue more serious compliance orders with that. If it's a retail establishment that we do not regulate then we will refer those to the organization that does regulate them." - Dr. Denise Bonds, Thomas Jefferson Health District, July 13
“This is really important funding that we can get out into the community. Eligible items are things like supporting vulnerable populations, helping homeless and homeless prevention support, emergency financial assistance, food delivery, medical related prevention supplies.” - Lori Allshouse, Albemarle budget director, July 1, 2020