What’s going to happen this weekend?
Obviously it would be extremely challenging for first responders to use roads surrounding the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility if this is allowed to happen again.
Category Archives: Safety
Governor Northam Announces Phase One Guidelines to Slowly Ease Public Health Restrictions. Phase One will begin no sooner than Friday, May 15.
View at Governor.Virginia.gov:
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam signed Executive Order Sixty-One and presented a detailed framework for the first phase of the “Forward Virginia” plan to safely and gradually ease public health restrictions while containing the spread of COVID-19. The Phase One guidelines will be implemented when the data meets the public health criteria outlined by the Commonwealth. The new executive order modifies public health guidance in Executive Order Fifty-Three and Executive Order Fifty-Five and establishes guidelines for Phase One.
The Governor’s phased approach is grounded in science and data and includes mitigation strategies to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus through enhanced safety practices. The plan allows localities to consider delaying implementation of Phase One guidelines based on local conditions.
“I am proud of the millions of Virginians who have stayed home and helped to flatten the curve, but our work is not done,” said Governor Northam. . . .
Phase One guidelines for specific sectors are available here or at virginia.gov/coronavirus/forwardvirginia.
View the graphs and slides from the Governor’s presentation here.
City Council Decides to Move Forward on Hearing Planning Items Using Online and In-Person Social Distancing Practices.
Hello Shore Drive Residents,
I pray you are all doing well during these unprecedented times. Stay safe and stay healthy.
As City Council has been progressing with how they plan to continue public hearings during these trying times, the SDCC has asked Council to specifically defer all Planning Items that have opposition until normal reviews can be safely implemented.
Based on the May 5th Council hearing, video review of the meeting can be seen here, it appears Council is set to move forward with hearing all Planning Items even if they are highly opposed such as Westminster-Canterbury’s 22 story high rise Assisted Living Facility. Council has suggested to hold highly contested items such as Westmister-Canterbury in larger spaces like the Convention Center to allow for 6 foot social distancing requirements. Specific details are still being determined by Council, so please continue to follow our website posts to stay up to date on how and when these Planning Items will be heard.
Emails asking City Council to defer any Planning Item that has opposition.
Email 1:
Dear Mayor Dyer and Council Members,
I am sending this email again in regards to your review of hearing Planning Items during the State’s “Shelter in Place” by utilizing virtual meetings.
I would ask that no Planning items be heard unless failure to do so would result in irrevocable harm or have a direct impact on the pandemic emergency.
If you decide to start hearing general Planning items, then I would recommend you only hear items that have no opposition so you can vote on them by consent. If an item has any opposition, then it should be deferred until normal in person hearings can be resumed.
Thank you for this consideration,
Todd Solomon
Email 2:
Dear Mayor Dyer and Council Members,
I commend you all for working towards a method to allow for remote participation during various public meetings. Using technology to help maintain social distancing during these close quarter and sometimes large attendance gatherings is the right thing to do.
However, I am confused why the “Resolution to suspend certain portions of the City Council Speaker Policy” doesn’t include the suspension of Planning Agenda Items (Section 2.1) along with the recommendation to suspend Regular Agenda (Section 2.2) and Non-Agenda/Open-mic (Section 2.3) Items. Already, Planning Items from March and April are being deferred and I can’t think of any possible Planning Items directly related to the Covid19 crisis or ones where failure to act would result in irrevocable public harm.
With the Governor’s “Shelter in Place” decree effective until June 10th, wouldn’t the safest and smartest action be to also suspend Planning Items from City Council agendas during this emergency period?
If for some overarching legitimate reason the Planning Items have to remain, then I suggest that Planning Items with any opposition be automatically deferred as long as this emergency policy is in place. This would still allow unopposed items to be approved by consent. Deferring opposed items would minimize a resident’s health risk of attending Council meetings in person and should also make remote virtual meetings easier to manage since there will be less online speakers.
Thank you for your consideration to this request,
Todd Solomon
City Council Special Meeting – 05/05/2020
Governor Northam Unveils Blueprint for Easing Public Health Restrictions
‘Forward Virginia’ blueprint informed by diverse health and business stakeholders, includes testing, tracing, and PPE priorities
‘Forward Virginia’ blueprint informed by diverse health and business stakeholders, includes testing, tracing, and PPE priorities
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today presented the “Forward Virginia” blueprint, which will help guide the Commonwealth on when to safely begin easing public health restrictions. The blueprint includes a phased approach that is grounded in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and has specific goals to contain the spread of the virus through increased testing, personal protective equipment and supplies, and medical capacity.
“We will move forward, but in a way that prioritizes public health and builds public confidence,” said Governor Northam. “Businesses know that customers will return only when they feel that it is safe to do so. Our blueprint for the path forward is data-driven and provides clear guidance, so Virginians will know what to expect and understand how we will decide to when to lift certain public health restrictions.”
Virginia is looking at a wide range of public health data. The Governor emphasized that key indicators will include a 14-day downward trend in confirmed cases as a percentage of overall tests and in reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations. While hospitalization rates have largely stabilized in the Commonwealth, confirmed cases continue to rise.
The Forward Virginia blueprint includes the following priorities:
TESTING AND TRACING
To ensure the continued safety of Virginians, the Commonwealth aims to test at least 10,000 individuals per day. Karen Remley, former Commissioner of Health and current co-chair of Virginia’s Testing Work Group, outlined a four stage approach to meet this goal prior to safe reopening. The expanded testing plan includes hiring contact tracers, who will support local health departments in identifying individuals who may be exposed to COVID-19 and helping them self-isolate.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to ramping up testing, ensuring the safety of healthcare staff, and expanding the medical workforce. Virginia’s PPE pipeline is improving, and hospitals are successfully managing their supplies. The Governor cautioned that safely easing restrictions will require an ongoing stable PPE supply chain across all sectors of healthcare, and ensuring that the supply is regularly replenished.
Virginia has ordered 17.4 million N95 masks, 8.3 million surgical masks, 17.1 million gloves, 1.7 million gowns, and 1 million face shields. This includes a contract signed jointly with Maryland and the District of Columbia for 5 million N95 masks.
Governor Northam announced that a second shipment from Northfield Medical Manufacturing is scheduled to arrive today and will be promptly distributed. The latest shipment includes 3 million nitrile exam gloves, 100,000 N95 masks, 500,000 3-ply procedure masks, and 40,000 isolation gowns.
HOSPITAL CAPACITY AND STAFF
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions are largely stable across Virginia, even as case counts continue to rise. To ensure continued capacity as Virginia move towards “Phase One” of easing restrictions, Governor Northam yesterday extended the ban on elective surgeries through May 1 and expanded the ability of physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners with two or more years of clinical experience to practice without a collaborative agreement.
The Virginia Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) continues to recruit and deploy medical and non-medical volunteers to bolster the work of local health departments, hospitals, and healthcare providers. The MRC currently has over 16,500 trained volunteers, more than halfway to Virginia’s goal of 30,000.
PHASE ONE OF EASING RESTRICTIONS
Governor Northam outlined key benchmarks Virginians can expect in the first phase, which will begin no sooner than two weeks from now to allow for a 14-day downward trend in confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Phase one includes continued social distancing, teleworking, limits on travel and public gatherings, and recommended use of face coverings. Any easing of restrictions will be informed by public health experts, members of the Governor’s COVID-19 Business Task Force, state and local officials, and other stakeholders.
The Commonwealth is developing two sets of guidance: one with broad based recommendations for all businesses, and another with industry specific recommendations for public-facing businesses like restaurants and non-essential retail. The guidance will be provided to businesses in early May.
The slides from today’s presentation are available here.
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Stay home. Stay informed. Stay safe.
New Traffic Pattern at Intersection of Shore Drive and North Great Neck Road
In support for Storm Water drainage improvements, a new traffic pattern will be temporarily used for the intersection of Shore Drive and North Great Neck Road.
The new pattern will be set up Monday through Saturday, 7am to 7pm for the next two to three weeks. Please be careful as you head south onto N. Great Neck at this intersection.
Click here to read the City’s News Release on this subject – 20200401-News Release – REVISED -N Great Neck Road – March 2020
UPDATE:
Virginia Beach Public Works has announced a change in the schedule for work crews as stated in the news release of 2/16/2020; RE: the Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Improvements project.
The work schedule for the crews is revised as follows for Southbound Traffic (west side) of North Great Neck Road:
Original Schedule:
7 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, April 5, 2020 through June 7, 2020.
Revised Schedule:
Beginning April 6th, 2020, there will be daytime work through Friday (Saturday if needed) 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The road will be re-opened at the end of each daily shift, to include temporary paving of the excavation, clean up and removing traffic control before returning it to the original traffic pattern each evening. Work at this location is expected to be complete by April 24th, 2020.
Detour Scheduled for West Great Neck Road on Wed April 15th from 9pm to 4am
Click here to read in .pdf format West Great Neck Road Detour – April 15th 2020
VB Public Works Schedules Detour for West Great Neck Road
VA Beach Public Works has announced a detour for the area near West Great Neck Road and Adam Keeling Road
on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. The detour is scheduled so that crews can relocate a water line to the east side of
West Great Neck Road.
The detour hours will be from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m.
The work is part of a project that will provide a 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk along the west side of West Great Neck Road
from Adam Keeling Road to the bridge over Long Creek, approximately 0.2 of a mile. Once completed, the sidewalk will
improve safety and provide a connection for pedestrians traveling from Great Neck Point to Shore Drive.
The contractor for the job is EL-X Enterprises, and Phillip Blackwell is the project manager. For emergency information,
contact him at (804) 698-0989.
“Current social distancing efforts starting March 15 have paused the growth of the epidemic in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this scenario, “paused” growth means that the rate of new cases is holding steady rather than increasing.”
View yesterday’s Governor’s briefing here.
Key takeaways from infectious disease models developed by the UVA Biocomplexity Institute include:
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Current social distancing efforts starting March 15 have paused the growth of the epidemic in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this scenario, “paused” growth means that the rate of new cases is holding steady rather than increasing.
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Current trends suggest that Virginia’s statewide hospital bed capacity will be sufficient in the near future.
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Lifting social distancing restrictions too soon can quickly lead to a second wave.
And:
“Currently, it appears as if the Commonwealth of Virginia is tracking with the pause scenario, which means that the residents of Virginia are doing an excellent job with mitigation,” said Bryan Lewis, Research Associate Professor for the Network Systems Science and Advanced Computing division for the Institute.
Additional links from Press Release includes:
RAND Healthcare Virginia COVID19 Models Initial Analysis.
Estimation of COVID-19 Impact in Virginia April 13, 2020 (data current to April 11, 2020) Biocomplexity Institute Technical report: TR-2020-048
UVA Biocomplexity Institute report includes:
BIOCOMPLEXITY COVID-19 RESPONSE RESOURCES at UVA.
CURRENT SOCIAL DISTANCING EFFORTS ARE WORKING
VDH increases graphing & data breakdowns
How Privacy-Friendly Contact Tracing Can Help Stop the Spread of Covid-19
Tips how to keep our EMS volunteers safe
Virginia Uses Genetic Technology to Combat COVID-19
“This genetic fingerprint gives us tremendous insight into this novel virus, helping us understand where Virginia cases originated and how they are being transmitted in our communities,” said DCLS Director Dr. Denise Toney. “Providing this information in real-time is unbelievably valuable for public health officials as they determine how to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in our communities.”
“We are still in the early stages of this outbreak, but we must ensure that Virginia is ready when the surge of acute cases hits our healthcare system,”
The facilities — the Dulles Expo Center in Northern Virginia and the Richmond and Hampton Roads convention centers — will be able to provide beds for 1,107 acute patients or 1,848 non-acute patients, Northam said Friday.
“Sentara Healthcare is now processing COVID-19 tests at a newly-created laboratory in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.”
The project involved the purchase and delivery of an Abbott m2000 RealTime testing instrument, related equipment and supplies, creation of a dedicated COVID-19 testing lab in a former laboratory conference room and train staff to use it in less than two weeks.
“Sentara is fortunate to have the resources to respond to this crisis and begin our own testing within a few weeks,” says Tabetha Sundin, Ph.D., scientific director of the Sentara Molecular Laboratory. “Waiting for test results can be nerve-wracking for our patients. We are doing all we can to speed up results and provide answers.”
Coronavirus Update from Mayor Bobby Dyer April 4th 2020
CITY COUNCIL SETS SPECIAL ELECTRONIC MEETING TO DISCUSS TAX DEFERRALS; SUSPENSION OF THE MEAL TAX; REDUCTION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RATE; EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS AND MORE RELATED TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Latest update from VBGov.com Emergency Coronavirus page:
April 3, 2020
The City Council will hold a “Special Meeting by Electronic Communications Means” on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 3 p.m. to discuss tax deferrals; suspension of the meal tax; reduction of personal property tax rate; and areas for expenditure reductions necessitated by the pandemic. The City Council will also provide guidance to staff for preparation of any necessary resolutions or ordinances for Council’s consideration at a subsequent City Council Special Session.
Following the discussion, the City Council may consider the adoption of an item to address tax relief necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of an ordinance to suspend provisions of the City Code regarding penalties and interest upon certain local taxes during the pandemic, which is sponsored by Council Member John Moss.
While citizen comments will not be heard during this meeting, citizens are encouraged to submit comments to the City Council prior to the special meeting via email at CityCouncil@vbgov.com. The current Council agenda can be viewed online at VBgov.com.
The City Council will not be at City Hall (Building 1), which will remain closed to the public. The meeting can be viewed live on VBTV (Cox channel 48 & Verizon channel 45), online at VBgov.com/media and on Facebook.com/CityofVaBeach.
For the latest information, please visit emergency.vbgov.com/coronavirus and follow us on facebook.com/CityofVaBeach, twitter.com/CityofVaBeach and instagram.com/cityofvabeach.
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Message from EMS Operations Chief Lewis: 4/2/2020
How to SUPPORT your Rescue Squad today.
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad
Chesapeake Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad
VB Emergency Medical Services
P R A C T I C E S O C I A L D I S T A N C I N G
City Council Special Session – 03/31/2020 video
We applaud City Staff for getting these videos online this fast!
#WeLoveShoreDrive 