Roughly 27 months after its first reported infection, the Fairfax Health District has officially recorded more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases.
To be exact, there have now been 202,162 cases in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, according to the Fairfax County Health Department. 4,568 residents have been hospitalized, and 1,518 residents have died during the pandemic.
Vehicle pursuits have come to a near halt amid new rules to avoid overly aggressive policing that can endanger people and communities.
The Fairfax County Police Department recently reported that vehicle pursuits went from above 100 per year in 2019-2021 to one per month as of May 17.
The public’s chance to comment on proposed tweaks to Fairfax County’s plan for bus rapid transit in the Route 1 corridor is almost over.
In a pair of April meetings, staff from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation recommended reducing the number of turn lanes currently along Route 1, also known as Richmond Highway, as well as some revisions to the project design, including reducing the design speed from 45 to 35 mph.
Governor Attends Vienna Memorial Day Ceremony — “Vienna residents joined Gov. Glen Youngkin and other dignitaries at the Town Green today to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. In his remarks, Rear Admiral Fred Kacher noted that for Gold Star families, every day is Memorial Day.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
West Falls Church Apartment Fire Displaces Residents — Assisted by Arlington and Fairfax City, Fairfax Count fire investigators are looking into a two-alarm apartment fire that damaged 12 units in the 2900 block of Dover Lane on Sunday (May 29). There were no reported injuries, but an “unknown number” of residents were displaced, including a dog. [FCFRD/Facebook, Twitter]
Memorial Day weekend is almost here. Before you start planning how to spend the holiday or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.
Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:
(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) While the weather has died down for now, almost 800 people in Fairfax County lost electricity when a thunderstorm passed through the D.C. region this morning, bringing flood and tornado risks.
Dominion Energy has 761 customers currently without power, as of 3:20 p.m., according to PowerOutage.US.
With summer on the horizon, visitors are expected to flock to Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, but the Fairfax County Park Authority is warning now: leave the coolers, alcohol, and swimming suits at home.
The park authority and Fairfax County Police Department will step up enforcement of the nature preserve’s rules starting this weekend (May 28-29), a move that has become routine in recent summers.
(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) Leon Jia should’ve been working on his neuroscience homework Wednesday night (May 25).
Instead, just 10 days before his graduation, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) senior was busy reaching out to classmates and various student leaders, and in less than 48 hours, they had potentially half the student body ready to walk out in protest of gun violence.
Memorial Day weekend is upon us. While there will be plenty of activities to keep Fairfax County occupied, the holiday also means closures and schedule changes on Monday (May 30) for many public facilities.
Public schools
(Updated at 12:55 p.m.) Tornado and storm warnings briefly usurped earlier weather alerts for Fairfax County as the National Weather Service noted potential dangers and hazards across the region.
“Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles,” NWS said in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning alert. “Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.”
