Free Coronavirus Safety Kits Provided To Fairfax City Businesses

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City's Economic Development Office and the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority are providing businesses with "safety kits" that include essential supplies to serve customers and visitors while ensuring employee safety.

The Fairfax City ReConnected Safety Kits include 50 cloth face coverings, four 32-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer, two touch-free thermometers, Fairfax City ReConnected Pledge information and business sector guidelines.

About 100 kits will be available to city businesses at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Tuesday. Businesses must register on the Fairfax ReConnected website to obtain a kit.

Earlier this year, the Fairfax City Office of Economic Development created the Fairfax City ReConnected program with the goal of helping businesses across the city reopen as quickly as possible while adopting new measures to keep the businesses and the community safe.

The Fairfax City ReConnected program includes guidance and support for Fairfax City businesses with initiatives such as Fairfax City ReConnected Grant information, Fairfax City Reconnected Outdoors dining provisions, reopening information and guidelines, and reopening signage.

"Fairfax City ReConnected Safety Kits offer Fairfax City businesses with essential materials to stay safely open while protecting their employees and patrons from the dangers of COVID-19," Jeff Hermann, chair of the Economic Development Authority, said Monday in a statement.

"Our businesses represent an integral part of Fairfax City's community, and we must do everything within our power to not only support them but also ensure they have access to protective supplies," he said.

Last week, the city announced plans for a Winter Preparedness Initiative Micro-Grant as part of its Fairfax City ReConnected Outdoors Program aimed at supporting the recovery of the city’s restaurant community. The Winter Preparedness Initiative identifies guidelines to safely comply with outdoor dining standards during the cooler fall and winter months.

As part of the initiative, the city is partnering with the city's Economic Development Authority to issue micro-grants that will provide direct assistance to city restaurants that seek to continue outdoor dining operations into the fall and winter seasons.