WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t upended President Donald Trump’s plans to hold another contentious Fourth of July celebration in the nation’s capital this summer.The White House told the Associated Press this week that Trump intends to move ahead with a scaled-back version of last year’s massive “Salute to...
As states seek to loosen wide-ranging restrictions imposed to constrain the novel coronavirus, they’re also looking to deploy a huge new fleet of workers to keep cases under control.Enter the contact tracers.With interpersonal contact certain to increase as states lift COVID-19 restrictions, tracing who infected people had contact with...
Voters in several localities around the commonwealth participated in last week’s local elections, even if they didn’t queue up at their regular precincts. Given the chance to vote absentee by mail – something state officials had encouraged during the coronavirus pandemic – Virginians did so in droves.That implies two...
The consequences of disobeying Virginia’s new mask requirement?That’s a question for later, according to Gov. Ralph Northam, who announced the new executive order on Tuesday with few specifics on how it would be enforced. “It gets into a lot of the legalities of this and can get complicated in a...
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among Virginia prisoners passed the 1,000 mark over Memorial Day weekend, according to the official tally maintained by the Virginia Department of Corrections.As of Monday at 5 p.m., officials reported 1,141 total cases, 12 hospitalizations and six deaths.Virginia has the 10th highest rate...
At first, it seemed like a promising lead.In late March, the Virginia Department of Health — a key player in the state’s unified command team responding to the COVID-19 pandemic — reached out to the U.S. Navy, which operates its largest base in Norfolk.Bob Mauskapf, the director of VDH’s...
So the much-vaunted swans had been in the Venetian canals all this time, and the dolphins had never been there at all.Bummer. But not every bit of news you’ve heard about the positive environmental byproducts of the pandemic has been fake. Case in point: air emissions. Whether carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide...
When is a good doctor not necessarily the best person to put in charge of the response on behalf of 8.5 million people to the worst viral pandemic in 102 years?When that governor isn’t also a great project manager.A dozen weeks into the extended nightmare that the novel coronavirus...
By Jamie RowenAs the nation takes a day to memorialize its military dead, those who are living are facing a deadly risk that has nothing to do with war or conflict: the coronavirus.Different groups face different degrees of danger from the pandemic, from the elderly who are experiencing deadly...
By William PetriAs we return to some degree of normalcy after weeks of social distancing, we all need a plan. As an immunologist, I’ve given this a lot of thought personally and professionally.When I venture out, I am first going to check the number of new COVID-19 infections in...
