Category: Coronavirus

Categories
Coronavirus

Coronavirus coverage

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’re continually covering the impact of the novel coronavirus on our community–this page includes all our prior news coverage.

The first case of COVID-19 in Charlottesville was confirmed on March 16. As of June 9, there were 649 reported cases in the Charlottesville area, and 19 deaths. Statewide, there were 51,251 cases and 1,477 deaths. See the latest Virginia DOH numbers, including a map of cases, here.

On 3/30, Governor Ralph Northam ordered everyone to stay home unless they are seeking medical attention, buying food or other essential supplies, caring for a family member, or “engaging in outdoor activity, including exercise.” The executive order—in effect until at least June 10—also required all public beaches and campgrounds to close, and allowed in-person gatherings of 10 or more people to be punishable by a Class 1 misdemeanor. The governor had previously ordered the closure of all schools until the end of the academic year, and many nonessential businesses—including gyms, barber shops, and salons—for at least 30 days.

The city and county schools are providing to-go breakfast and lunch bags for students who rely on the public schools for breakfast and lunch each day. Delivery sites and more info at charlottesvilleschools.org/food.

The University of Virginia moved all classes online and announced Final Exercises will not happen as scheduled, as the school looks for “creative alternatives.” On March 17, the school closed all gyms, libraries, and other facilities, and promised to “honor existing commitments to compensate” its employees “for the foreseeable future.”

For more local news updates, follow us on Twitter, and check out Charlottesville Tomorrow’s “Ask a Reporter” community Facebook page.

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Categories
Coronavirus

What’s happening…and what’s not

In an effort to contain the growing coronavirus/COVID-19 threat, a lot is shifting. Schools are closed, government proceedings are different, local venues are cancelling and postponing events, and local shops and restaurants are closing or pivoting to different business models. We’ll keep you updated as best we can on this page.

On Monday, March 30, Gov. Ralph Northam issued a stay-at-home order, which mandates that individuals remain in their place of residence except for food, supplies, work, medical care, and exercise. And when out, people should follow best social distancing practices and stay at least six feet away from others.

Follow @cville_culture on Twitter for a daily lineup of virtual concerts, book readings, and more. Have one you’d like to feature? Email erin@c-ville.com.

Last updated: Tuesday, March 31, 12:08pm

Community

The University of Virginia

Classes and in-person events on Grounds and in town are cancelled; events at John Paul Jones Arena are postponed through the weekend; ACC has suspended the spring athletic season; and more.

Piedmont Virginia Community College

Classes scheduled for March 16 and 17 have been cancelled, and most will move online effective Wednesday, March 18. All events scheduled to be held on the main campus and at satellite locations are cancelled or postponed, through April 4.

The City of Charlottesville:
  • All public meetings of city  boards and commissions are cancelled except for City Council; the public is encouraged to take advantage of remote participation options and to not attend the meeting in person.
  • All city-sponsored events and activities, including Parks & Rec activities, are cancelled.
  • The public libraries will be open until 6pm on Monday, March 16, and then closed through the end of March. The library directs patrons to their digital resources at  jmrl.org/on-download.htm.

Music

The Front Porch

All operations (concerts and lessons) are suspended until further notice. March and April concerts will be rescheduled, and spring music classes are still set to begin April 13. Private music lessons are available through Skype. Beginning Friday, March 20, in conjunction with WTJU 91.1 FM, The Front Porch will be broadcasting live concerts every Tuesday and Friday night.

IX Art Park

Events are cancelled or postponed until further notice.

The Jefferson Theater

The Swing into Spring event scheduled for March 15 has been postponed until May 31; March and many April shows are either cancelled or postponed. Check with the venue about other events as bands continue to update their tour dates.

Melody Supreme

Per a Facebook post, the downtown record shop will limit its in-store hours, as well as the number of customers allowed in the store at one time. Customers can shop remotely for curbside pickup or mail delivery.

The Music Resource Center

Will remain closed as long as Charlottesville City Schools are closed.

The Paramount Theater

No events for the remainder of March. Check the theater’s website for the most up-to-date information about which events have been cancelled for good, and which will be rescheduled.

Prism Coffeehouse at C’ville Coffee

Three upcoming concerts have been postponed, and the organization offers information about ticket refunds and concert safety.

Rapture

According to a March 15 Facebook post, “closed indefinitely.”

Sidetracks Music

As of March 20, the shop is closed to browsing, but they’ll deliver or mail CDs and records to your door.

The Southern Cafe & Music Hall

Many events are postponed or cancelled. Check with the venue about other events as bands continue to update their tour dates.

WTJU 91.1FM

The station continues to broadcast via 91.1 FM Charlottesville and online at wtju.net. Beginning Friday, March 20, in conjunction with The Front Porch, the station will be broadcasting live concerts every Tuesday and Friday night.

 

Dance

Charlottesville Tango

All March events cancelled.

 

Stage

American Shakespeare Center

Staunton-based theater organization cancels all in-house and traveling performances through May 31.

Live Arts

All meetings, events, programming, and production is suspended as of March 18. Production for Sweat and The Children, scheduled to run at the theater between April and May 2020, are postponed until next season. The building is also closed to the public for eight weeks.

The Paramount Theater

No events for the remainder of March. This includes Charlottesville Ballet performances, concerts, film screenings, and more. Check the theater’s website for the most up-to-date information about which events have been cancelled for good, and which will be rescheduled. 

 

Words

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library

The local library system will close at 6pm on Monday, March 16, and remain closed through the end of the month. This applies to all JMRL facilities, including library branches in Charlottesville, Crozet, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, Northside, Scottsville, and the Bookmobile. All library materials due in March will have their due dates changed to April after 6pm on Monday, March 16.

New Dominion Bookshop

The shop is closed, but customers can shop remotely. Books will be available for curbside pickup or local delivery. All events, except book clubs, postponed through the end of March.

Virginia Festival of the Book

All events cancelled. (But you can still read the books.)

 

Museums and Galleries

The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative

Per a press release issued on Monday, March 16, The Bridge announced it has closed its gallery, ceased after-school programming, and cancelled all social programs until further notice, though it will be holding a “quarantine haikus” event online. The organization has also postponed its REVEL 2020 fundraiser, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 2.

The Fralin Museum of Art

Closed to the public until further notice.

James Monroe’s Highland

Closed until April 3.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center

Closed through the month of March. “We hope to roll out new ways of enjoying our programs should the pandemic continues in our region,” said the March 17 announcement.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

The Kluge-Ruhe is closed, but people can explore the collection online.

McGuffey Art Center

All public events, classes, and First Friday art openings are currently postponed until at least March 27.

New City Arts Welcome Gallery

Closed for now.

Second Street Gallery

Closed for now, but staying engaged via social media.

 

Food + Drink

As local restaurants close, some are shifting to take out, see an ongoing list of closures and adjustments at Charlottesville 29.

BBQ Exchange Porkapalooza

The annual Porkapalooza event, originally scheduled for March 28 + 29, has been postponed. The restaurant remains open at this time.

IX Art Park

The winter farmer’s market will be held this Saturday, March 21, as scheduled.

Loaves and Fishes

Local food pantry remains open, but has cancelled all volunteer shifts. Staff will hand out pre-packaged boxes of food to those in need. Donations are still being accepted to help buy food.

 

Outside

Charlottesville Ten Miler

Canceled this year.

Saunders-Monticello Trail

Closed temporarily. Will reopen March 30 if public health conditions allow.

 

Nonprofit

Charlottesville/Albemarle SPCA

Per a press release issued March 17, the shelter is operating by appointment only, and public spay and neuter services are on pause. Rummage store temporarily closed.

Meals on Wheels

Still delivering, and taking extra preparation and delivery precautions. Because delivery volunteers will not interact with clients receiving meals, the organization will call clients via phone to check on their well-being. Meals on Wheels is in need of phone brigade volunteers to call and check in on clients.

 

Etc.

Caromont Farm

Goat-snuggling season has been postponed.

Festival of Cultures

The 17th annual festival, scheduled for May 9, has been cancelled.

Tom Tom Festival

Event postponed until September 21-27, 2020; individual ticket sales also postponed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday Evening Concert Series

UVA

All events cancelled.

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Coronavirus

In it together: Life under quarantine in our Italian sister city

Caterina Martini in 2017, outside her home in Tuscany, where she is currently quarantined. Photo courtesy subject.

Just weeks ago, Caterina Martini was celebrating the first birthday of her daughter, surrounded by friends and family at a large gathering. Hugs and kisses passed freely from person to person.

Life changed quickly for Martini and her family on March 10, when the Italian government issued a national quarantine to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Until further notice, she is sharing her home with her closest family members, just outside of Charlottesville’s Italian sister city Poggio a Caiano.

Martini, who visited Charlottesville in 2016 through an exchange organized by the Sister City Commission, says the quarantine is currently in effect until April 3, and that no one in her circle has become infected.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on March 11 that all bars, restaurants, hairdressers, and nonessential company departments had to close, in a move that is sure to further damage the Italian economy.

“The largest part of us don’t see this as an economic crisis, but as the inevitable consequence of a necessary safety measure,” says Martini. “We are all concentrated on the virus and on the prevention of it, so we do what we have to, to survive—literally.”

At the time of her email to us, she reported that citizens in her region of Tuscany (where there are currently about 40 reported cases of coronavirus) have “permission to go to the supermarket and to drugstores, but we have to follow some rules, like use a surgical mask and gloves to protect us, enter just two or three at a time in the stores and stay almost a meter away from other people.”

Martini also says that in order to travel long distances within the country, or to visit a neighbor or family member, Italians need a special certificate to prove that the trip is necessary.

Public offices are open, operating by appointment, and taking the same types of precautions.  As for those who need parts for their Vespa or a new pasta sieve? “We can still have almost everything delivered (Amazon is working a lot), and the trash is still handled regularly,” says Martini.

President Donald Trump’s initial denial of the magnitude of this health crisis (instead focusing on financial mitigation, which had little effect on the stock market) has led to many U.S. citizens feeling vulnerable, as Americans face a lack of resources including test kits (it’s been reported that the state of Virginia has less than 700 available). Italy too was late in recognizing the pace and impact of the outbreak, and quickly became Europe’s coronavirus epicenter.

Christian Althaus, who models infectious diseases at the University of Bern in Switzerland told The Guardian: “You can argue they [Italy] noticed it late, but that could have happened elsewhere too. Once they realised what was happening, I think they took it seriously. The first lockdown was the right choice, and expanding it nationwide probably too. They realise they need to curb the epidemic.”

Martini does not deny the economic peril, but says Italians will weather it together. “The quarantine, for the economy, is disastrous, but as we usually say in Italy, ‘We are all on the same boat,’” she says. “So we hang on, and we use this as an opportunity to stay with our families, at home, doing the things that usual life doesn’t permit us to do.” It’s a sentiment that could certainly ring true on our side of the globe in the weeks to come.

Tami Keaveny is a member of the Charlottesville Sister City Commission.

Categories
Coronavirus Opinion

Arm’s length: Hug man goes on hiatus over coronavirus concerns

David Reid, known for offering hugs on the Downtown Mall, will be taking a hiatus to avoid being an unwitting vector for the coronavirus. Photo: Eze Amos

 

To the community:

Due to the approach of the coronavirus, the hug-man will be suspending hugs on the mall until further notice. Because of what I do, I cannot take precautions between each hug to prevent spreading or catching the virus, and it is an ideal way to spread it. And I don’t want to do that to any of you.

 What the Trump administration—suppressing information and clearly more concerned with their stock prices than public safety—isn’t telling you is this: Like the flu, this virus has an incubation period during which it can be spread before you know you have it. This may be as long as two weeks, according to health experts.
This means that all of us should already be taking precautions. Here are some tips from the WHO.
It is up to us all to take care of ourselves and each other. Simple, basic hygiene and constant awareness of what we are doing will go a long way toward this. I believe the Trump administration and the medical insurance industry care not a whit if we live or die. My concern is with people, like the ones I hug blindfold on the downtown mall, so I am writing this, for all of us.
I hope I will get to hug you on the other side. Love and blessings to all of you. Be well, and be kind.
David the Hug-Man

Categories
Coronavirus News

Be prepared: Is Charlottesville ready for the coronavirus?

It’s been nearly three weeks since most of Virginia moved into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan. Some restrictions were loosened on businesses and social gatherings, but the pandemic is far from over, warns Ryan McKay, deputy incident coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. PC: Robert Llewellyn

Since last week, when health officials warned that Americans should prepare for the inevitable spread of the coronavirus here in the U.S., at least 12 Americans have died and new cases have been emerging almost daily. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that Americans should be prepared for the spread of the virus in local communities, as well as the possible disruptions to daily life it could cause, such as school and daycare closings.

So how is Charlottesville preparing? 

While the risk in Virginia “is still low” (there have not yet been any confirmed cases in the state), the Thomas Jefferson Health District is monitoring the situation and is prepared for any potential outbreak, says Jessica Salah, TJHD’s health emergency coordinator.

“We have been working with our central office since 2004 for pandemic influenza. We regularly meet with our community partners, local service providers, and health care partners to plan how we handle pandemic flu,” Salah says. “If you take pandemic flu out of the equation and insert a different communicable disease, the planning process and preparedness is very similar.” 

At UVA Health System, spokesman Eric Swensen says the system also “has a team in place that meets regularly…and makes updates to our plan as we need to,” based on guidance from the CDC and Virginia Department of Health.

According to Dr. William Petri, chief of UVA’s Infectious Diseases and International Health division, UVA hospital has numerous isolation rooms available for those infected with contagious diseases like COVID-19 (the disease caused by the new coronavirus). It also has plenty of face masks on hand, since the virus is primarily spread by coughing and sneezing (or by touching a contaminated surface). 

“And if a physician needs to go into isolation for 14 days because they potentially may have COVID-19 or are being treated for COVID-19…we are establishing a backup system, so that there’s another physician that can take their place, and we don’t get shorthanded,” Petri says. 

Petri, along with UVA virologist Peter Kasson, is currently applying for a research grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Though the grant could take months to be awarded, he believes that, with support from UVA, they should be able to start working on the vaccine soon. And with pharmaceutical companies like Gilead Sciences already conducting clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines, there could be a treatment available within a year, Petri predicts.

Dr. William Petri PC: Sanjay Suchak/UVA

Meanwhile, the university itself is also making plans. Since January, “a UVA team has been meeting regularly to prepare for the potential impacts of [COVID-19] on the university,” according to an update issued to parents by Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer. The university has made arrangements to quarantine potentially infected students, if necessary. 

UVA has not canceled any of its study abroad programs, but says it will do so if any countries where it is hosting programs receive Level 3 warnings or higher from the State Department. (Currently, China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy have such warnings, and UVA is not hosting any programs there this semester.) The university also strongly recommends students not travel to these countries during the upcoming spring break.

According to UVA spokesman Brian Coy, there is a small group of students studying abroad in Italy with a non-UVA program. The university has advised those students to return to the United States, where they may undergo screening for the virus.

Student travel organization WorldStrides, which has its headquarters in Charlottesville, has canceled or relocated programs scheduled for China, South Korea, and Italy this spring, but there are currently no students in those countries, according to Beth Campbell, vice president of content and communications.

Though TJHD recommends Charlottesville residents stay updated on the COVID-19 outbreak, it ultimately encourages them not to panic, and take simple precautions to keep themselves (and others) healthy, Salah says.

“Monitor CDC travel recommendations and avoid nonessential travel to [Level 3 countries],” Salah says. “We are also recommending that folks older than 65 get the pneumonia vaccine, and that everybody over the age of 6 months get the flu vaccine.”

TJHD does not recommend buying a face mask, but, as with every cold and flu season, advises people to wash their hands regularly, minimize touching their face and commonly used surfaces (like railings and door knobs), and stay home when sick. 

“And if you suspect you might have [COVID-19]—and the biggest reason to suspect that is that you have been to a country where COVID-19 is spreading person-to-person, and now have a fever, cough, and shortness of breath—call in first,” Petri adds. “Don’t just walk into the emergency room or doctor’s office, because then you run the risk of spreading the infection to other people.”

Charlottesville City Schools’ page on coronavirus: charlottesvilleschools.org/coronavirus/

Updates from UVA Health: uvahealth.com/services/infectious-disease/coronavirus-faqs

 

Updated 3/4 and 3/5 to reflect the increasing number of American deaths. As of 3/10 there are now five confirmed cases in Virginia, more than 720 in the U.S., and 26 deaths.