Health and Medicine
State lawmakers are working on proposals to cover most public safety employees under workers’ compensation benefits if they die or become disabled from COVID 19. The benefits would be retroactive to last March if approved, applying to firefighters, EMT’s, law enforcement officers and correctional officers. The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee is working on a final version of the proposals. One not-yet-resolved issue: finding money in the current state budget to cover the additional expense. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
The Virginia Department of Health reports almost 2900 new COVID positive tests statewide within the past 24 hours. 21 new cases, 1 new Hospitalization and 1 new death in Roanoke City; 47 new cases in Roanoke County. 16 new cases in Salem; 13 new cases in Botetourt County.
The Virginia Department of Health reports 194 new COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke Valley in the latest 24 hours — along with six new hospitalizations and three new deaths. The new cases were spread fairly proportionately in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem and Botetourt County, but all three deaths are attributed to Roanoke City. Here is the daily breakdown :
Roanoke City:
6,757 cumulative cases (+70)
119 cumulative deaths (+3)
167 current hospitalizations (+2)
Roanoke County:
6,334 cumulative cases (+86)
76 cumulative deaths
119 current hospitalizations (+2)
Salem:
1,702 cumulative cases (+17)
33 cumulative deaths
49 current hospitalizations (+2)
Botetourt County:
1,834 cumulative cases (+21)
21 cumulative deaths
45 current hospitalizations
February 27, 2020 – Portrait of Barbara Hoopes (Photo by Erin Williams/Virginia Tech)
An assessment of the COVID vaccine rollout by a Virginia Tech professor who teaches global supply chain management – not too bad, considering what she calls the compressed time frame. More from WFIR’s Gene Marrano:
Click below to hear the complete conversation with Dr. Hoopes
NEWS RELEASE: As the number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to rise in our valley, the health and safety of our staff and those individuals in our care remain a top priority for the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office (RCSO). Due to this, a Point Prevalence Survey was conducted this week, as per the recommendations of the Virginia Department of Health(VDH). This entailed the administering of a nasal swab(PCR) test for COVID-19 to 166 staff members, including contracted employees. Of these, 14 individuals (12 staff and 2 contract employees)tested positive.
On Tuesday, January 26, 2021, the inmate population also received their nasal swab testing for COVID-19. Out of the 427 inmates that were tested, 53 individuals tested positive for the virus. The department is still working with VDH on obtaining the vaccine to administer to the inmate population in order to make those arrangements as soon as possible. The staff of the RCSO, as noted in a media release on January 13, 2021, have already begun to receive the first dose of the vaccine.
This aggressive testing approach will assist in identifying asymptomatic individuals, and therefore help minimize the spread of COVID-19 within the facility. Additionally, the information obtained from this proactive testing measure will help us further develop and modify our comprehensive plan to protect our inmates and staff accordingly.
The RCSO continues to work closely with the VDH, and routinely receives and implements the guidance provided on the most effective ways to manage and mitigate exposure within the correctional facility. We will continue to conduct routine PCR testing of everyone in the facility, until such time as there are no positive test results, or when it is considered safe to discontinue.
As of January 28, 2021, a total of 55 staff members and 81inmates have tested positive for COVID-19since the beginning of this pandemic. As with previous releases of COVID-19 test results of staff and inmates, there will be no names or specifics of medical conditions released due to legal mandates on medical privacy.
For COVID-19 specific questions regarding the Roanoke City Jail, please call (540) 853-1761Monday through Friday 8:00am –4:30pm. You may also submit a question through our website at roanokeva.gov/sheriff.
Starting today the Virginia Department of Health will start texting people who test positive for COVID-19 and have supplied a mobile phone number. The texts will come from 804-336-3915 and will only be sent between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The messaging is also available in Spanish.(Richmond, Va.) — Virginia is making the process easier for people to be notified of positive COVID-19 test results — and anonymously share those results with others who may have been exposed. Starting on Thursday, January 28, 2021, VDH will begin sending a series of text messages to people who receive a positive COVID-19 viral test result in Virginia.
These texts, which are automatically triggered when VDH receives any positive COVID-19 lab result registered with a valid mobile phone number, will provide rapid notification and encourage anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to stay home and away from other people. The texts will come from 804-336-3915 and will only be sent between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The messaging, which is also available in Spanish, will then provide a link to the new COVIDWISE Verification Code Portal. This online portal allows individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 to obtain a self-verification code, which will let them anonymously submit their test result through COVIDWISE, Virginia’s free COVID-19 Exposure Notifications app. These verification codes ensure that only valid positive COVID-19 tests are reported in COVIDWISE.
“Using tools like automated text messages provide additional options to help Virginia expand its existing exposure notifications and contact tracing operations without compromising user privacy or security,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA. “This technology will quickly notify you if you have a positive test result and provide valuable safety information, so you can self-isolate effectively, seek timely medical attention, and reduce potential exposure risk. It will also encourage you to anonymously share your results through COVIDWISE with other users who’ve likely been exposed, so you can help protect your family, friends, and community.”
Governor Northam says it is too early to lift his most recent list of COVID-related restrictions, so he is extending them for another month. They include no seating in bar areas, shutting off restaurant alcohol sales at ten, closing restaurants by midnight, and a statewide midnight to five am curfew. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
A Radford University doctor behind a scientific journal study documenting a deceased Bobcat kitten that was turned into the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke is discussing why the case was so unique. WFIR’s Ian Price has that story:
The number of new reported COVID-19 cases in the region is on a downward trend from earlier this month, but it remains above the levels seen last spring and summer. The Virginia Department of Health reports 128 new Roanoke valley cases in the latest 24-hours, three more hospitalizations and one new death. Here is the daily breakdown :
Roanoke City:
6,687 cumulative cases (+50)
116 cumulative deaths
165 current hospitalizations
Roanoke County:
6,248 cumulative cases (+60)
76 cumulative deaths (+1)
117 current hospitalizations (+1)
Salem:
1,685 cumulative cases (+7)
33 cumulative deaths
47 current hospitalizations (+2)
Botetourt County:
1,813 cumulative cases (+11)
21 cumulative deaths
45 current hospitalizations
Some New River Valley residents hoping to receive COVID-19 vaccinations will have to wait. Overnight snowfall led the New River Valley Public Health Task Force to delay the scheduled opening of today’s clinic. Anyone who had a scheduled appointment before 10:30 has been advised to await an automated telephone message.