Arlington Board Sets Aside $17.5B For COVID-19 Contingency Fund

ARLINGTON, VA — When the Arlington County Board voted Tuesday to adopt a $1.4 billion General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, it set $17.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding for a COVID-19 contingency fund.

The money will be used to support the county's pandemic response, including purchasing PPEs, and paying for vaccine distribution, testing and contact tracing, and emergency service needs. It also provides emergency rental assistance, eviction prevention, food assistance, and support for the county's business community.

One new death connected with COVID-19 was confirmed Wednesday in the Arlington Health District, according Virginia Department of Health. This follows 14 days without a new COVID-19 death being reported in Arlington.

VDH confirmed 23 additional cases of COVID-19 on in Arlington, which more than the 15 reported on Tuesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Arlington Health District stands at 14,884. To date, 821 people have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Arlington.

The positivity rate of COVID-19 testing in the Arlington Health District remains at the lowest level in months. VDH reported that a total of 254,784 COVID-19 tests have been taken in the Arlington, with a 4.6 percent positivity rate.

Arlington's positivity rate has been steadily declining since it peaked at 13.4 percent on Jan. 2. Statewide there have been 8,987,289 COVID-19 tests taken, with a 6.6 percent positivity rate.

As of Wednesday morning, 141,493 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 55,782 people have been fully vaccinated in the Arlington Health District, according to VDH data. Statewide, 5,440,861 doses of the vaccine have been administered and 2,198,898 people have been fully vaccinated.

More: Scheduling Your COVID-19 Vaccination Appointment In Arlington

There have been 65 outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Arlington Health District. There have been 28 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, 18 in a congregate setting, one at a correctional facility, four in health care settings, six at a child care facilities, one at a college or a university, and seven at a K-12 facility. The total number of cases associated with an outbreak is 1,056. There have been 347 reported coronavirus cases in Arlington involving health-care workers.

There have been 649,608 total cases statewide, according to data reported by the Virginia Department of Health. In Virginia, there have been 10,640 coronavirus-related deaths to date. There have been a total of 27,852 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Globally, more than 143.2 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 3 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday morning. In the United States, more than 31.8 million people have been infected and over 568,000 people have died from COVID-19.

Arlington residents should take the following actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

For more information on coronavirus vaccines in Virginia, see the Virginia Patch COVID-19 vaccination page and link to it: https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/topics/virginia-covid-19-vaccine-information-hub.

Also see ...

• 40 Percent Of Virginians Have First Coronavirus Vaccine Dose
• Arlington Coronavirus Update: 2 Weeks Pass With No New Deaths
• Northam Visits Tysons Vaccination Site After Eligibility Expands
• COVID-19 Cases Continue To Decline As Arlington Enters Phase 2
• Scheduling Your COVID-19 Vaccination Appointment In Arlington
• 2.1 Million Fully Vaccinated As Virginia Expands Eligibility