MARCH 30, 2020: COVID-19 UPDATE
STAY AT HOME
Governor Northam has issued a state Stay at Home order on March 30th, 2020. The Stay at Home order is to protect the health and safety of Virginians and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. The Executive Order takes effect immediately and will remain in place until June 10, 2020, unless amended or rescinded by a further executive order. The order directs all Virginians to stay at home except in extremely limited circumstances. Individuals may leave their residences for essential travel, including to seek medical attention, work, care for family or household members, obtain goods and services like groceries, prescriptions, and others as outlined in Executive Order Fifty-Three, and engage in outdoor activity with strict social distancing requirements.
Coronavirus Response Update Resources
Virginia's Coronavirus Homepage
The Commonwealth has set up a website for all things coronavirus-related. All updates can be found here, and the site will continue to update as Virginia takes new action to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Virginia Department of Health coronavirus alert
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/
Fairfax County Health Department
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel-coronavirus
Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/
USDA Commodity Food Program
VDACS has received a USDA waiver to allow for seniors over 60 participating in the USDA Commodity Food Program to receive their monthly food and to minimize physical contact during the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants are no longer required to sign for the food they receive. Additionally, participants are able to receive 2 boxes every other month rather than one box monthly. This will minimize the number of distributions without limiting the amount of food.
For seniors who may have limited access to internet-based information, they can call 211 to talk with an operator who can share nutrition and food assistance information based on their address or visit 211virginia.org.
Food Insecurity
Individuals in the Commonwealth who are experiencing food insecurity are encouraged to visit https://vafoodbanks.org/ to locate a food bank nearest to them.
Domestic Violence Hotline
A reminder that the Department of Social Services is maintaining its Domestic Violence Hotline. Victims of domestic violence are encouraged to report their case to the hotline: 1-800-838-8238
U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau has suspended its 2020 Census field operations for an additional two weeks to April 15, 2020. Further information on the 2020 Census can be found here.
Business Questions
Any businesses with questions about essential vs. non-essential designations can email those inquiries to business@governor.virginia.gov or commerce.trade@governor.virginia.gov