Coronavirus Pandemic

The Latest

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  coronavirus Aug 8

  Virginia Supreme Court Grants Eviction Moratorium

  The Virginia Supreme Court has granted a request from Gov. Ralph Northam to suspend judicial proceedings related to evictions for tenants who can’t pay rent
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  Maryland State Board of Elections Aug 7

  Maryland Elections Board Votes for Fewer Polling Locations

  Maryland’s state elections board has voted to significantly reduce the number of places where voters can cast ballots on November’s Election Day
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  coronavirus Aug 8

  Alexandria Camp Closed Early Due to COVID-19 Case, Parent Says

  A popular summer camp in Alexandria has had to close early this summer and a parent says it’s because every child and staff member potentially was exposed to someone with COVID-19.  A sign on the door of the Nannie J. Lee Center says the facility is closed. The center hosts a camp that’s a service for children with special...
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  coronavirus Aug 8

  Montgomery Health Officials Rescind Order to Close Private Schools

  Montgomery County says private schools can hold in-person instruction after a struggle with the governor over their ability to reopen. The decision comes after several orders were issued a back and forth by the county and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan about whether private and parochial schools could hold face-to-face classes. The county Health Officer...
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  Alexandria Aug 7

  Alexandria Rape Suspect Killed Accuser, Police Say

  Police in Virginia say that a rape suspect released from jail amid the coronavirus pandemic went on to kill the woman who had accused him. Ibrahim E. Bouaichi was tracked down by authorities on Wednesday, The Washington Post reports. But he shot himself and was in grave condition on Thursday. Bouaichi was indicted last year on charges that included...
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  racial justice Aug 8

  Racial Justice Group Calls on Congress to Address Racism in COVID Relief

  A sobering new report finds Black people are being disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus because of structural institutions which existed before the pandemic hit. A report by Howard University School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Center, Harvard Law scholars and Law 4 Black Lives DC details the disparities in health, policing, economics, mass i...
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  Montgomery County Aug 7

  Montgomery County School Board Votes for Online-Only Fall Semester

  The Montgomery County Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday in favor of virtual-only learning for the fall semester. The vote formalized the decision announced June 21 by Superintendent Jack Smith, WTOP reported. The vote also contained language that cancels fall and winter sports, WTOP reported. But the district says that athletic director...
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  Northern Virginia Aug 7

  Ballot Applications With Wrong Info Concern Northern Virginians

  Watch out for a piece of mail that’s confusing some Northern Virginia residents. Dozens of people have reached out to News4 asking about a letter that appears to be an application for a mail-in voting ballot — but Fairfax County’s office of elections is warning voters that this piece of mail is misleading voters. The envelopes sta...
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  coronavirus Aug 6

  Swim School Partners With Hotel to Continue Offering Classes

  SafeSplash Swim School teams up with a local hotel to continue offering swimming lessons. Megan McGrath reports.
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  coronavirus Aug 5

  VA Insiders Concerned About COVID-19 Say It's Hard to Take Leave

  A group of frontline employees and union leaders at the Washington DC VA Medical Center said the agency is not ensuring workers potentially exposed to COVID-19 are given work leave to prevent the further spread of the virus. In a series of interviews with the News4 I-Team, the employees described incidents in which they came in proximity to colleag...
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  coronavirus Aug 6

  Montgomery County Issues Amended Order Prohibiting In-Person Learning at Private Schools

  Montgomery County leaders are taking new steps to keep students at home this fall despite an order from the governor allowing schools to reopen. County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles issued an amended order prohibiting nonpublic schools from holding in-person classes through Oct. 1. The county says the amended order reemphasizes the need to prote...
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  Covidwise Aug 6

  Virginia Becomes First State to Try Covidwise Pandemic App From Apple, Google

  Virginia has rolled out a smartphone app to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus.
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  Coronavirus in DC Aug 5

  DC Monitoring Tax Payments as Pandemic Rocks Economy

  D.C. officials are closely monitoring tax payments to the city as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake the economy.  There is “considerable uncertainty” over whether property tax payments will be paid, the chief financial officer said in a statement Wednesday.  Mayor Muriel Bowser said officials will watch “every bucket” of taxes and st...
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  coronavirus Aug 5

  UVA Study Finds Small Percentage of Virginians Tested Have COVID-19 Antibodies

  A new study from the University of Virginia estimates that very few Virginians have COVID-19 antibodies. Researchers said that 2.4% of the 5,000 blood samples they examined had antibodies. Dr. Eric Houpt, the head of the university’s infectious diseases division, led the study and said its purpose was to get a better picture of how many peopl...
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  coronavirus Aug 4

  Families Sue to Be Allowed to Send Children to Private Schools in Montgomery County

  Several parents are suing for the right to send their children to private school in person in Montgomery County, Maryland. “Online learning is in no way equivalent to face-to-face learning, especially for young children,” said Meagan Rizzo, whose family is one of six that joined the lawsuit. The families say their children’s private schools had det...