Health and Medicine
Virginia gyms and health clubs are still adapting to the re-opening guidelines that took effect almost two weeks ago, and some are doing so with their own guidelines that go beyond the governor’s. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
It is a summer like no other at Virginia colleges and universities – no students on campuses as officials prepare for big changes when the fall semester begins. At Virginia Tech, it will start with move in, staggered over a greater number of days than before, and it will encompass every aspect of life on campus – including dorms, food service and classes. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
33 new confirmed or probable coronavirus cases are being attributed to the Roanoke Valley according to that latest data by the Virginia Department of Health. State Health Officials say there are 20 new cases in Roanoke City, 7 in Roanoke County, 3 in Salem, and 3 in Botetourt County. There are no new coronavirus deaths being reported in the Roanoke Valley.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought about many changes in our lives, and one of them may involve how you sometimes communicate with your dentist. As WFIR’s Evan Jones reports, “teledentistry” is likely here to stay.
It’s pretty much just like how it sounds. Use your mobile device to have a video conversation with your dentist. Brad Guyton is Chief Dental Officer at Delta Dental of Virginia, and he says your dentist can use such conversations to determine whether you should come in immediately for treatment or hold off – and for how long. Its use really picked up in recent months, and Guyton says Delta Dental is interested because it can help more of the people it insures to connect with dentists, especially in underserved areas.
Starting this Sunday, Kroger Mid-Atlantic will return to normal operating hours. Kroger had adjusted hours in mid-March to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Local stores will open at 6 a.m. each day and close at 10 p.m.,11 or midnight. Visit the Kroger website to view the exact hours for each location.
NEWS RELEASE: ROANOKE, Va. (June 11, 2020) – Starting Sunday, June 14, Kroger Mid-Atlantic will return to normal operating hours. Kroger Mid-Atlantic adjusted hours in mid-March to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Stores in Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division, which includes Virginia, West Virginia and parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, will open at 6 a.m. each day and close at 10 p.m., 11 p.m. or midnight. Customers can visit the Kroger website to view exact hours for local stores.
Pharmacy hours will not change. Fuel centers will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Senior and high-risk shopping hours will remain for the time being, but will be extended from 6-8 a.m. on Tuesday through Thursday each week.
“The health, safety and well-being of our associates, customers and communities remains our top priority,” said Allison McGee, corporate affairs manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic. “The expanded hours will allow for more social distancing of our customers. We will still utilize the same stringent sanitation requirements throughout our locations and ask that customers continue to practice social distancing and wear masks while shopping.”
Kroger continues to take protective measures in stores, including:
- Limiting store capacity
- Enhanced daily sanitation, including cart sanitation
- Plexiglass barriers at registers
- Social distancing decals to encourage social distancing
- Sanitizer stations throughout stores
- Personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, gloves and face shields provided for associates
- Associate temperature monitoring
- Continuing to expand curbside pickup and delivery services, as well as contactless payment solutions like Kroger Pay
Since the onset of the pandemic, Kroger Mid-Atlantic has directed nearly $450,000 to hunger relief efforts. A variation of product and cash gifts, the donations have gone to restocking food bank shelves, replenishing food pantries for seniors, ensuring children have access to meals since schools closed and more.
The Virginia Department of Health says COVID-19 testing numbers show a sharp increase today, but officials say it reflects backlog of 43,000 tests from two laboratories that are now reporting electronically. Even with that test backlog now cleared, the VDH reports 490 new confirmed cases statewide in the latest 24-reporting period, and that is lower than the seven-day moving average of 665 — and well below the daily peak of 1,550 on May 26.
In the Roanoke Valley, there are now 232 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Roanoke City since the virus first arrived, 132 in Roanoke County, 43 in Salem, and 44 in Botetourt County. The VDH defines “probable” as “symptomatic with a known exposure to COVID-19.”
NEWS RELEASE: (Richmond, Va.) – Today, COVID-19 diagnostic testing data reported by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will reflect a sharp increase in PCR SARS-CoV-2 tests completed in Virginia. Today’s testing report includes 43,000 PCR tests. Two laboratories began electronic reporting to VDH this week, allowing a backlog of negative tests to be included in today’s testing report. Positive test results from these labs were hand entered into the system when they were received to support follow-up by public health staff. The addition of these negative tests will result in a decrease in the percent of positive PCR tests. One lab had roughly 18,000 results and the other had around 13,500 results. The remainder of the figure reflects regular daily reporting. VDH reports labs by lab report date on our website. These results will be presented based on the actual date the laboratory reported the test result.
All labs in the Commonwealth are considered disease information reporters. Therefore the names of the labs are considered confidential by the Code of Virginia sections 32.1 -36 and 32.1-38 so VDH cannot release this information.
Governor Northam says all Virginia private and public colleges and universities are permitted to re-open their campuses to in-person instruction, but they must first submit a comprehensive plan on how they will address COVID-19 concerns. Northam says each plan must attend to a wide array of issues that include social distancing in dorms, classrooms and dining halls. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
- Repopulation of the campus
- Monitoring health conditions to detect infection
- Containment to prevent spread of the disease when detected
- Shutdown considerations if necessitated by severe Conditions and/or public health guidance
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The Roanoke region’s largest health system says some of the recent changes in care brought about by COVID-19 are likely to have lasting impacts – including how you see the doctor. Providers have had to make all sorts of changes in how they do things since March, starting with the way you speak with your doctor; many more such consultations are now conducted by video or phone. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Governor Northam has released guidelines for youth sports under Phase 2 of his re-opening executive orders. They vary by sport, but administration officials say all rely on common sense. Northam’s Chief of Staff Clark Mercer said at Tuesday’s briefing the basic principle is incidental contact is to be expected, but intentional contact should not. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more: