The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced Tuesday that it is adopting newly revised COVID-19 quarantine guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that were released earlier this month.
VDH and the CDC recommends people who test positive for coronavirus or may have been exposed to quarantine for a full 14 days, but the new guidelines have two additional alternatives for a shorter length of isolation.
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Americans’ mental health has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic as lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures remain in effect across the country, according to a survey published Monday.
Mental health is worse than any other point in the last two decades, Gallup reported on Monday. A survey conducted by Gallup showed 76% of Americans reported their mental health as either excellent or good, a decline from past surveys in which more than 80% of Americans reported positive mental health.
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Hundreds of restaurants banded together to push back against Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent coronavirus mandates, Fox Business reported Monday.
Joe Vicari, president of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group in a Monday appearance said a total of 400 eateries in the state have joined the push against Whitmer’s lockdowns, Fox reported. Michigan is nearing the end of a three-week pause that shuttered indoor dining and bar service, but the governor has indicated a willingness to re-extend the restrictions that end on Tuesday, according to Bridge Michigan.
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A California Sheriff criticized recent coronavirus regulations and vowed that his department would not be used as “muscle” to enforce the orders on the residents of his county in a Friday announcement.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco spoke out in a video against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent COVID-19 mandate that restricts businesses and requires residents to stay home if intensive care unit capacity drops below 15% in certain areas. The sheriff also lambasted state authorities who threatened to withhold state funding from counties that defied virus regulations in early September.
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A California sheriff on Saturday joined a growing list of law enforcement leaders in the state who refuse to enforce recent coronavirus orders.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes tweeted an announcement vowing not to send his deputies to enforce mask violations, “social gatherings or stay-at-home” violations. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom had issued a state-wide quarantine order for localities where intensive care unit capacity drops below 15%, according to the New York Times.
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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is expected to lay off over a thousand employees over a period starting on Christmas, according to layoff notices filed in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. The cuts are the result of low ridership in the current 2021 fiscal year, which ends in June. A Metro official, who was not authorized to talk to the media, said that approximately 1,400 layoffs were expected soon, with an additional 2,400 needed to cover shortfalls in fiscal year 2022.
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The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced on Friday that the Commonwealth is preparing to receive 480,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of December based on new information from the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed.
As Governor Ralph Northam noted during a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted last week to officially recommend healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents as top priority for vaccination.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday addressed an interim report on the Michigan COVID-19 Task Force on Racial Disparities, but would not provide a direct answer to the question of whether she would extend the three-week pause on economic activity in the state.
More than two weeks after imposing a second lockdown of Michigan’s indoor dining facilities, theaters and bowling alleys, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services-imposed pause is due to expire next week.
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As the 2020 elections fade into the background, Governor Ralph Northam has re-instituted capacity limits and restaurant curfews, but unlike in spring 2020, the governor has not closed schools back down. He has also not called for schools to open back up, leaving local districts to make their own decisions.
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The annual Grand Illumination special event in Colonial Williamsburg’s historic area will not take place this year.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the city announced the event was cancelled in a news release earlier this week because of current statewide coronavirus restrictions as well as an increase in cases despite efforts to continue with the ceremony during the pandemic.
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A trio of organizations filed an amicus brief in the Tennessee Supreme Court asking justices to accept an appeal of a lawsuit over the educational savings account (ESA).
The American Federation for Children joined Latinos for Tennessee and the Memphis Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the filing. The AFC is an affiliate of the the Alliance for School Choice.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) shared that the current COVID-19 relief bill is a bipartisan effort closer to $1 trillion. The senator explained in a press conference Thursday that the move is favored by Democratic legislators over efforts by House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“The good thing is that there are Democrats that have said to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer that they think it is wrong to hold out for a $3 trillion dollar deal, and saddle our future generations with that debt. So they’re working with some Republicans on a bill that is closer to a trillion dollars. So, the bill that we as a Republican conference had agreed on was about a $600 billion bill.”
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U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Fairfax doctor Felicia Donald to seven years in prison for operating a “pill mill” at For Women OB/GYN Associates and NOVA Addiction Center. According to a Department of Justice press release, from April 2016 to April 2020 Donald distributed over $1.2 million worth of oxycodone and other controlled substances. Donald pled guilty on May 4, 2020.
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Liberty football’s historic regular season has officially come to an end.
The university announced Thursday that it is cancelling Saturday’s top-25 matchup against rival Coastal Carolina and pausing all team activities because of an elevated number of COVID-19 cases within the football program.
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Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) announced earlier this week that the district will not be participating in any Virginia High School League winter sports during the 2020-21 academic year because of concerns over rising coronavirus cases in the area.
Andy Jenks, HCPS chief of communications and community engagement, shared the news in an online message to families Monday and noted that all out-of-season conditioning programs are also suspended for the time being.
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said that initial doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in the state as early as mid-December.
During a coronavirus press briefing Wednesday afternoon, the governor shared details on the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plans instead of implementing new statewide restrictions.
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Metro Nashville charged three women for hosting a Halloween party that officials say violated COVID-19 restrictions.
Charged were Madilyn Dennington, Bailey Mills and Olivia Noe, according to a story by WKRN. They are residents at a house on Boscobel Street that allegedly hosted the party; authorities received complaints for a loud party there.
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Pharmaceutical company Moderna announced Monday that it will submit its coronavirus vaccine to the federal government for emergency use authorization approval.
Moderna said it would ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval after its large-scale human trial concluded and showed the company’s vaccine to have an overall efficacy of 94.1%, according to NBC News. The vaccine was found to be 100% effective in preventing severe cases of coronavirus, according to Moderna.
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Bullets are flying off the shelves again, like after Barack Obama’s two presidential election wins. But gun shop owner Bob Marcus said the cause is not just traditional fear of what a Democratic administration might do.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci said “close the bars and keep the schools open” during a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”
“Martha, that’s a good question. We get asked it all the time. We say it not being facetiously as a sound bite or anything, but you know, close the bars and keep the schools open is what we really say,” Fauci told ABC’s Martha Raddatz.
Fauci was specifically referring to how President-elect Joe Biden’s future administration can have a collective plan to reopen schools. Fauci also specifically referred to New York City schools closing in November.
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After trailing by double digits late in the second half, Virginia Tech came from behind and upset No.3 Villanova 81-73 in a thrilling overtime game that wasn’t even supposed to happen in the first place.
Despite some late-game adversity, the Hokies (2-0) defeated one of college basketball’s best teams on Saturday thanks to 23 points and eight rebounds from Keve Aluma, 20 points from Nahiem Alleyne off the bench and a stuffed stat sheet by Tyrece Radford with eight points, five assists and 13 rebounds.
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Under emergency health orders, Nashville police have arrested 47 people as of mid-November, including 11 accused of hosting large gatherings, The Tennessean newspaper said.
The newspaper said it based its report on its research of court documents and other data. Reportedly, 79 percent were in violation of Metro Health orders by failing to wear a mask in public. Some of the hosts allegedly held house parties of up to 600 people at a time, according to police, which could result in up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
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Mayor of Blount County Ed Mitchell took to Facebook last week sharing a comparison of how Tennessee counties have fared under mask and no-mask mandates.
Blount County, which is not under a mask mandate by Mitchell, has Maryville as its county seat and largest city. It lies in Tennessee’s eastern grand division adjacent to Knox and Sevier counties, both of which have mask mandates in place.
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Citing the “the alarming increase in the spread of COVID-19,” Metro Nashville Public Schools will move all students to distance-learning after the Thanksgiving break.
The district on Monday evening tweeted, “Metro Schools is returning to all-virtual learning following the Thanksgiving break on November 30 through the end of the semester, December 17.”
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by Jake Dima A New Jersey police chief vowed to limit enforcement of a recent string of coronavirus orders from Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy ahead of Thanksgiving. Howell Township Police Chief Andrew Kudrick Jr. said he would rely primarily on community judgment rather than law enforcement intervention in response to Murphy’s regulations, according to a statement. The governor’s order limited indoor gatherings to ten people, shuttered restaurants and bars at 10 p.m. and capped the number of attendees at funerals and weddings, among other gathers, NBC Philadelphia reported. “Howell Township Police will rely on the community to be responsible for their own actions without enforcement intervention as they have done in the past,” the chief wrote. “Of course they will respond to egregious violations such as packed house parties, so please think as you plan any gatherings.” “We are not going to be interfering with people’s Thanksgiving dinners or their holiday dinners or their social gatherings, unless it’s something egregious,” Kudrick said, according to NBC News. The New Jersey police boss also criticized Murphy for allegedly exempting those engaged in political activities from the order. “When you exempt certain peoples, especially those who are attending political activities, from the executive orders, I think that same…
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Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Sunday strengthened the state’s mask mandate and limited attendees in private gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving.
Residents must wear face coverings whether gathering indoors or outside if any member that’s not in their household is present, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Private gatherings are limited to 10 people from a maximum of two separate households and public events will be capped at 50 people or 25% capacity, whichever is less, the order, which will last a total of three weeks, read.
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Many states in the U.S. are hinging their COVID-19 mitigation strategies on the availability of a widely available vaccine. An issue bound to arise is the extremely cold temperatures the most promising experimental vaccines need to be kept at and the logistics of delivering them across the country.
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is estimated to remain stable at standard refrigerator temperatures of 36° to 46°F for 30 days. Longer storage means a required temperature of mRNA-1273 needs -4°F for up to six months.
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Monday afternoon in downtown Nashville, a rally of just over 100 people protested the latest gathering limit from Mayor John Cooper. None of the police were present at the Legislative Plaza steps where everyone gathered.
Cooper coined the term “Rule of 8” for the city’s latest pandemic-related order ahead of Thanksgiving. The event description on Facebook described the rule as “ridiculous and unconstitutional.”
Pastor Greg Locke hosted the protest. Locke announced the event during the third “Stop the Steal” rally last Saturday – Trump supporters have pledged to gather every weekend until the general election lawsuits are resolved.
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For months, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine steered cleared of publicly second-guessing President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, despite their differences in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, following the governor’s move to shutdown the state over rising COVID cases and remarks urging a swift conclusion to the challenges to the 2020 election irregularities, President Trump suggested another Republican should challenge him in Ohio’s 2022 election.
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Congress passed the CARES Act last March, sending many taxpayers $1,200, giving $100 billion to health providers, and boosting unemployment benefits by $600 a week, according to Govtrack. The $2 trillion stimulus bill also sent $150 billion to states and localities across the country. Virginia received about $3.1 billion dollars, with a separate $200 million sent directly to Fairfax County.
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University of Tennessee at Knoxville Law Professor Glenn Reynolds is calling out the Metro Nashville Department of Health’s claims over COVID-19 closures, saying they are “not following the science.”
Starting Monday, Nov. 30, Nashville will limit bars and restaurants to 50 percent capacity, NewsChannel 5 reported Monday. They must operate at half capacity with 6 feet of social distancing for a maximum of 100 customers per floor, whichever is less.
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In a video that ends with a plea from Ohio State Representative Jon Cross (R-Kenton) to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cross asks for Ohio to be opened and his district to be relieved from measures that are choking out businesses and workers.
Cross represents Ohio’s 83rd District, comprised of Findlay, Kenton and an area with over 119,000 Ohioans.
“This is not an attack on the Governor. This is my artistic way of drawing attention to the situation.”
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U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) last week called out Democratic politicians from around the country for what he called their hypocrisy on how they have enforced the laws and regulated people’s behaviors during 2020.
Green said this in a video he uploaded to his Facebook page.
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Facing pressure from teacher’s advocacy groups, school districts across Virginia are reconsidering plans to return to in-person learning. Districts including Henrico County, Fairfax County, and Virginia Beach are canceling or postponing in-person learning options, according to reporting by NBC12 and Wavy.com. Other districts, including Chesterfield County and Loudoun County, are considering similar moves, according to ABC7 and WRIC. On Sunday, a group of Northern Virginia teachers’ associations wrote a letter citing rising COVID-19 cases and state guidance about limiting group size as a reason for postponing plans.
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Approximately 20,000 Virginians who have been relying on extended unemployment benefits over the last several months amidst the coronavirus pandemic will no longer receive those payments come Saturday.
The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) announced Wednesday that it has been notified by the U.S. Department of Labor that the Extended Benefits Program in Virginia will end on November 21.
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Nashville Mayor John Cooper has placed new limits on gatherings just in time for Thanksgiving, leading one conservative watchdog to liken all the mayor’s decrees to a “game of duck duck goose.”
With the dramatically named “Rule of 8,” Cooper announced a limit of eight for public and private gatherings. The limits start Monday.
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Four University of Virginia (UVA) undergraduates have created a website called The Collegepedia that aims to make the process of finding the latest reliable, college-specific news about COVID-19 at universities throughout the Commonwealth easier.
“[Journalists] have been working tirelessly to keep communities informed about their health and safety, but there is no single media outlet or aggregator that compiles all of these stories, searchable by community, in an easy to read and straight to the point format. So, we wanted to fill that void.” UVA senior Nik Popli, one of the website’s creators, told The Virginia Star.
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Troy Fire Chief Matt Simmons has watched Ohio’s COVID response and the statewide statistics since Ohio began responding to the virus.
“We had the local health department come in and talk with us back in the beginning. What they were saying was pretty grim,” said Simmons.
Fast-forward to November and according to the state cite, COVID cases have gone up exponentially in previous weeks and hospitalizations for COVID patients have climbed to all-time highs.
But the statistics that Chief Simmons keeps mulling over are that Miami County (where Troy is located) has seen overdose calls increase by 137%, while suicide calls have spiked an alarming 500%.
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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is delaying the return to in-person instruction for thousands of younger students, Superintendent Scott Braband announced in a letter to parents and staff on Monday.
The largest school system in Virginia had planned to send 6,800 pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and special education students (Group 5) back to school on Tuesday, but decided to put the move on pause because the current community health metrics for coronavirus cases are exceeding the threshold to expand in-person education, according to Braband.
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Tennessee is one of four states chosen by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to help refine plans for the delivery and deployment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine if it receives approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer announced Tuesday.
The pilot program will help support states’ planning, deployment and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine and adapt findings for use in other states to support vaccine distribution. Tennessee released its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan last month.
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Governor Ralph Northam announced new statewide coronavirus restrictions last weekend, which went into effect Monday, that will impact a number of retail businesses throughout the Commonwealth.
“COVID-19 is surging across the country, and while cases are not rising in Virginia as rapidly as in some other states, I do not intend to wait until they are. We are acting now to prevent this health crisis from getting worse,” the governor said in a press release.
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Hours after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used her health department to shut down some businesses statewide for three weeks, State Representative Matt Maddock, (R-Milford), and roughly nine other Republican lawmakers called for impeachment hearings for the first-term Democrat.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a press conference on Monday that he is not planning to impose a second full lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, instead calling for a “slow down” in the state.
Ohio is currently seeing thousands of new cases of COVID-19 each day, with nearly 8,000 new cases added on Monday, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.
“Instead of shutting down, we have to slow down,” DeWine said at a conference from the Tri-State Airport in West Virginia, according to Fox8. “We have to slow down in our individual lives and our decisions in what we are doing.”
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by Doug Ferguson AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) — In this one-of-a-kind Masters that had no fans and no roars, Dustin Johnson made sure it had no drama. And when he polished off his five-shot victory Sunday with lowest score in tournament history, he had no words. Only tears. Looking smart in his Masters green jacket he dreamed his whole life of winning, Johnson spoke to a small gathering on the putting green in absence of the official ceremony, but only briefly. In control of every aspect of his game on a course that never allows anyone to relax, he couldn’t speak when it was over. Instead, he turned to wipe his eyes. “I’ve never had this much trouble gathering myself,” Johnson finally said. “On the golf course, I’m pretty good at it.” No one was better. Not even close. Johnson overcame a nervous start that conjured memories of past majors he failed to finish off, and then delivered a command performance that added his own touch to a Masters unlike another. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first played in November. It was the first without ropes and without roars because patrons were not allowed, only one guest…
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In a newsletter last Monday Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent Jason Kamras said the school system will not play high school or middle school winter sports this year.
“Athletics are important for many reasons: they motivate and inspire, improve student health, and can even lead to college scholarships. I am deeply sensitive to this,” Kamras wrote in his daily RPS direct newsletter. “At the same time, given our decision to go 100% virtual for the first semester, and given rapidly rising infection rates, we will unfortunately not be fielding any teams this winter.”
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Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital prevented Father Steve McNally from visiting COVID-19 patient Eugene Conti in the ICU for two weeks after Conti was admitted in September, according to The Roanoke Times. Conti died without receiving last rites.
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Updates this week to the State Department of Elections website show vote totals in Richmond’s second district council race dropping from 14,086 to 13,259 — a difference of 827 votes. While earlier results showed candidate Tavarris Spinks leading Katherine Jordan by 26 votes, the change saw Spinks’ vote totals drop from 7,056 to 5,961. Jordan gained 165 votes, giving her 7,195. Spinks announced Thursday that he has filed a FOIA with the registrar.
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After a lackluster 2019 season, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team is aiming to improve in the second season under head coach Mike Young and show they can compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), arguably college basketball’s best league.
When asked by media if the team can improve in the ACC, Young said: “I do, but you’ve heard me say it, you’ll hear me say it again, every year [has] the same goal: to take this team as far as I can take them and see them grow and develop and come together as a unit in a bizarre time for all of us.
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A Williamson County public school teacher on indefinite suspension for refusing to wear a COVID-19 mask on school grounds told school system officials Thursday that science and public opinion are not on their side.
That teacher, Aundrea Laramee-Gomez, said this in an open letter to all 12 Williamson County School Board members and Superintendent Jason Golden.
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Two Republican state delegates released a joint statement on Tuesday calling for the Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) to work with members on finding a way to hold in-person meetings during January’s regular General Assembly session.
Delegates Christopher Head (R-Roanoke) and Joseph McNamara (R-Roanoke County) said in the statement they are preparing to be in Richmond for the start of the regular session.
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