Health and Medicine
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Nearly 150,000 Virginians filed unemployment claims in the last week, the third straight week of record-setting claims in reaction to the coronavirus outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that 149,758 claims were filed in the state in the week ending April 4. That’s about a one-third increase over the previous week, which was itself record-setting.
Before the coronavirus forced so many businesses into stasis, weekly jobless claims in Virginia averaged around 2,600.
Virginia’s jobless claims continued to accelerate even as the national number of 6.6. million claims essentially leveled off from the previous week.
For context, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the size of the Virginia workforce at about 4.46 million. meaning that about 7% of Virginia workers have applied for unemployment in the last three weeks.
David Miles is normally a DJ and karaoke host in Norfolk, with steady gigs at bars and restaurants, parades, weddings and other big events that have all been canceled due to the coronavirus.
“All of my shows gone in a flash,” he said.
Miles is among those now scrambling to make ends meet while waiting weeks for their unemployment claims to be processed under new rules passed in the federal stimulus meant help independent contractors, like Miles and his husband. Miles said he filed a claim the day the stimulus package passed, but got a letter Wednesday saying he’d been denied because of his status as an independent contractor.
Miles now accompanies his husband, who has an injured hand, on Amazon and Grubhub deliveries, even though both have underlying health issues that put them in a high-risk category if they were to catch the virus.
“We’re really not supposed to be in contact (with people), but we have no choice.”
He said he’s hoping the state acts quickly to make it possible for independent contractors to receive unemployment as the stimulus envisioned, so he and his husband won’t have to put themselves at risk.
State officials say they’re revamping their website to accommodate claims filed by independent contractors.
Also on Thursday, the Virginia Department of Health reported that coronavirus deaths in the state have exceeded 100 and positive tests for the virus have exceeded 4,000. A week ago, the health department reported 41 deaths and more than 1,700 positive cases.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
Lewis Gale Physicians are now offering telehealth visits for all specialties in Southwest Virginia practices. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
NEWS RELEASE: (Roanoke County, VA —April 9 , 2020) In an email notification to Roanoke County employees on Thursday, County Administrator Dan O’Donnell shared that a Roanoke County employee has tested positive for COVID-19. “The individual was last in the workplace on Saturday and began exhibiting mild symptoms on Sunday, ” said O’Donnell. “The employee has remained at home since then and is being treated there. The employee did not contract the virus at work, but rather in a group setting outside of any County facility.” O’Donnell added that the County has been working closely with the Virginia Department of Health which has made the appropriate notifications to others who may have been exposed.
The Virginia Department of Health reports 109 deaths statewide from COVID-19, an increase of 34 in one day. That is by far the single largest one-day jump since the virus first arrived in the commonwealth. At least 35 of those 109 deaths are at Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Henrico County outside Richmond. Based upon the statewide figures, the Virginia COVID-19 mortality rate is about 2.7%.
State health officials say the sometimes lengthy delays in test results mean Virginia is likely to have many more COVID-19 infections than the actual number reported each day; that could have a bearing on the state’s actual mortality rate.
This comes as unemployment claims in Virginia set a third straight weekly record, totaling close t0 150,000.
The news that Carilion Children’s is closing its NICU to all visitors as of yesterday – coupled with a directive from Ronald McDonald House Charities a few weeks ago – means the local Ronald McDonald House is no longer offering shelter to families in town while their child is receiving medical treatment. Anna Semonco is the Roanoke shelter’s executive director – its normally a busy place on a daily basis. Semonco says they are still welcoming donations online; they will be used in part to assemble “care packets” of snacks for the families still at the hospital even if the NICU is now off limits to them due to COVID-19 precautions:
An independent company has measured how well people are social distancing – and our region did NOT make the dean’s list. WFIR’s Ian Price has details:
VT photo
A Virginia Tech food safety expert says there is a very low COVID-19 risk from any food you order on line for delivery to your home – or from its packaging. Joell Eifert says the greater health risk is leaving any delivered food outside for more than 20 minutes. She spoke with WFIR’s Evan Jones:
VT NEWS RELEASE: The reliance on take-out and food delivery are increasing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, while the food supply is safe, there are ways to emphasize food safety from these sources.
“The FDA has stated that the U.S. food supply remains safe for both people and animals. There is no evidence of human or animal food or food packaging being associated with the transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19,” said Joell Eifert, director of the Food Innovations Program in the Virginia Tech Department of Food Science and Technology and Extension Specialist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
However, there are some simple practices you can do to further emphasize food safety. Receiving and delivery practices should minimize human to human contact which can include:
Pre-pay for your order before delivery to avoid sharing pens or payment equipment.
- Ask for your delivery to be left at the front door to avoid hand to hand contact.
- Ensure that you will be available or are notified of your delivery to ensure that perishable items don’t sit out of refrigeration too long.
- When bringing your delivery into the house, place the outer box or bag on a hard surface that can be cleaned and sanitized. Remove the food from the outer box or bag and then immediately discard the outer bag or box.
- Wash your hands before putting food away.
- Clean and sanitize the surface that outer boxes or bags touched.
- Wash your hands before opening, preparing, or eating food. Washing hands before eating is always recommended.
The food industry is dedicated to making sure food, food establishments, and food manufacturing facilities remain safe and do not contribute to the current outbreak. The most effective tools against the COVID-19 virus are already being used by these food producers and are basics for food safety, Eifert said.
“Practices already in place include handwashing, ensuring that ill workers are sent home, following standard operating procedures for making a safe quality food product, avoiding situations that allow cross-contamination and following sound cleaning and sanitation practices,” Eifert said. “These practices are not new to food establishments and are providing to be sound practices to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 to employees as well as customers.”
Eifert said that measures taken by food manufacturers are:
- Practicing social distancing in the employee common areas like cafeterias, restrooms, and breakrooms.
- Increasing the cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces or shared equipment used by employees (using CDC-recommended procedures).
- Wearing disposable gloves and gowns for cleaning and disinfecting.
- Use EPA-registered disinfectants safely.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension has a vast library of resources on food safety and a full list of publications on food safety in a variety of environments can be found here.
About Eifert
Eifert has over 20 years of food science experience within the industrial, regulatory and academic sectors. Her career in academia has been spent predominantly in an Extension and Outreach role with her most recent position is as the Director of the Food Innovations Program within the Department of Food Science and Technology. The Food Innovations Program goal is to provide the technical assistance needed for the food processing industry to produce high quality, safe, and innovative food products. One of the program’s main missions is to increase the awareness of Virginia’s food producers to matters of food safety, pertinent food regulations and general concerns associated with starting a food business. More here.
Laundromats are not businesses where social distancing is the typical norm. So in this coronavirus era, owners are quickly coming up with ways to comply. The owner of six Roanoke-area businesses has removed all the chairs so customers will wait in their cars. And they are asked to do their folding now at home, not on the laundromats’ tables. WFIR’s Evan Jones spoke with Peter Schenck, owner of About Clean, who says his customers have been amazing:
The association that represents Virginia hospitals now has a website that allows you track how many beds and ventilators are currently in use – and how many remain available. Among other things it shows is that right now: about a quarter of all available ventilators are currently being used – but of that number, more than half are for patients with conditions other than COVID-19. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Click here to see the “On-line data dashboard”.