Gov. Northam ramps up COVID-19 restrictions for restaurants, bars and gatherings as cases surge11/18/2020 New COVID-19 restrictions implemented this week caused stress among restaurant owners who have adapted to on-the-fly changes throughout the summer and fall.
City Dogs, an American-style restaurant in Richmond, opened its first location in Shockoe Slip in 2008 and a second location closer to VCU’s campus in 2009. Owner Cliff Irvy said the new restrictions will have a negative effect on his business. “I wasn’t happy,” Irvy said. “That was my reaction.” Gov. Ralph Northam tightened restrictions on gatherings and mask wearing as COVID-19 cases in the United States spiked well past summer averages. Restrictions went into effect on Monday. In a press release Friday, Northam announced heightened restrictions on in-person gatherings, increased mask requirements, alcohol curfews for bars and restaurants and increased enforcement of these policies. “COVID-19 is surging across the country, and while cases are not rising in Virginia as rapidly as in some other states, I do not intend to wait until they are,” Northam said in the release. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE.
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An event showcasing VCU’s campus and housing options for potential students continued online this semester, and although some students saw faults in the virtual format, the university noted an increase in attendance.
VCU held its virtual open house event for incoming students from Nov. 9-13. It, like most university events, shifted from in-person to online due to COVID-19. Last month’s open house had 1,147 students in attendance, VCU spokesperson Michael Porter said. A similar, in-person event held last October had 427 attendees. There is not yet accurate data on attendance during this month’s open house. Porter attributes the increase in attendance to the accessibility of the virtual setting. “Even within this virtual setting, we have been able to create an interactive and engaging event by incorporating Zoom breakout sessions and featuring a variety of faculty, staff, and student panels,” Porter said in an email. The weeklong November event included live chat sessions with representatives from different schools, including VCUArts, School of Business, College of Engineering and College of Humanities and Sciences. The university also held a virtual Student Resource Fair, which introduced prospective students to the student clinic, academic advising and the University Student Commons. Porter said most of the departments that participated in previous open houses were in attendance for the virtual event. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. Mass communications major Julia Daum is heading home and traveling out of state during winter break. But due to Richmond’s case numbers, the sophomore said she will get a precautionary COVID-19 test before she returns to Fauquier County.
As the end of the semester approaches, students are preparing to head home for winter break. With more than 400 total positive cases of COVID-19 reported on the university’s dashboard, students are contemplating how to keep themselves and their families safe during the nearly two-month-long break. Daum said her at-home community has been handling the pandemic well. Fauquier County has reported 1,291 total coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, per the Virginia Department of Health. Daum will be working during the break, and said she plans to get tested periodically so she doesn’t put anyone at risk. “Both my parents have been extremely safe,” Daum said in a direct message. “We live out in the country, so there aren’t many people/crowds.” VCU reported 434 total cases of COVID-19 this semester and about a 25% positivity rate, according to the university dashboard on Tuesday. Students who test positive or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms must report to Student Health Services. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. VCU Athletics will trim the capacity for men’s and women’s basketball games to accommodate Virginia’s new COVID-19 restrictions, the department announced on Tuesday.
The Stuart C. Siegel Center, which holds more than 7,000 fans, was set to host 1,000 spectators to start the season. Virginia’s coronavirus guidelines allowed up to 1,000 fans in sporting events, but that cap dropped on Monday to 250 spectators. “We regret that we cannot have our usual full capacity to start the men’s basketball season,” said Ed McLaughlin, director of athletics. “Our loyal, dedicated fans make our home games the best environment in college basketball and we will miss everyone who cannot attend in person.” A statement from the department said a limited number of tickets will be made available to VCU students and guests of student-athletes. Approximately 175 seats will be reserved for season ticket holders. Season ticket holders will receive notice by Wednesday, Nov. 18 if they qualify for the updated capacity model. Those who don’t qualify can transfer their season ticket donation to a Ram Athletic Fund gift or request a refund. Seating will be socially distanced, and a buffer zone in the front rows will create distance between spectators and players. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and former mayoral candidate Alexsis Rodgers have isolated themselves after employees of a Richmond elections office tested positive for COVID-19.
Richmond General Registrar J. Kirk Showalter confirmed during a press conference Monday that three registrar staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. Showalter said 90% of her staff will quarantine until Nov. 17. In a tweet from the mayor, Stoney said a member of his campaign team tested positive for COVID-19 after interacting with a staff member of the registrar’s office. Stoney said his office will isolate pursuant to guidance from the Richmond City Health District. In the Twitter thread, Stoney said news coverage of the pandemic has died down, but it “doesn’t mean it’s no longer a threat.” “This should serve as a sobering reminder that the pandemic is still very real,” Stoney said. Since March, Virginia has reported 3,713 deaths due to COVID-19. Black and Latino people account for 1,317 of these deaths. In Richmond, 53.2% of those who died from COVID-19 were Black. Thirty-one percent were white. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. A tentative COVID-19 vaccination plan is taking shape in the Virginia Department of Health, but it is still unknown how VCU fits into the plan for a coronavirus vaccine that could be months away.
Gonzalo Bearman, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at VCU, said that a vaccine for the virus will probably not be widely available for another six to nine months –– either late next semester or the beginning of fall 2021. “In general, distribution must be prioritized to first line responders, healthcare workers, the elderly, and people with underlying chronic medical conditions which increase their risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19,” Bearman said. Bearman said that until published information is available on the vaccine, it will be difficult to predict how it will be distributed. However, he said VCU students and staff should be included as part of a “comprehensive, community-wide vaccine strategy” for the greater Richmond community. “It’s unlikely that the Richmond community will be vaccinated in isolation from VCU, and vice versa,” Bearman said. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. A growing number of Virginia colleges are announcing that spring break will be canceled or modified in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, announced plans Monday. The biggest change is that the university will not have a week-long spring break. It will instead have five one-day breaks spaced throughout the semester. “While we want to discourage travel that could aid in the spread of COVID-19, we don’t want to eliminate much needed downtime that students seek for their overall well-being,” Frank Shushok, vice president for student affairs at Tech, said in a news release. Tech will hold a mix of in-person and hybrid classes. The latter will be fully online or a mix of online and in-person courses. The university did not modify the start and end of the spring semester. The university will begin classes on Jan. 19 and end on May 5. Exams will be held May 7-12. Other Virginia universities have started to announce plans for the spring semester. George Mason University in Fairfax announced Monday plans to start classes on Jan. 25, one week later than originally planned. GMU will also be eliminating spring break. The university will hold a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid classes, and will end classes as originally scheduled on April 30, followed by final exams. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. VCU will have a phased return to campus in January but will not have a spring break, according to a university release on Thursday. Some students are critical of the decision to remove the traditional mid-semester break, while others say it is not “the end of the world.”
Junior public relations major Abby Reasor said that although the news of spring break being canceled is disappointing, it’s insignificant compared to larger problems such as the spread of COVID-19. “I realized that it won’t be safe to travel anyways,” Reasor said. “Spring break would’ve been a boring week of getting ahead on homework, so I don’t think I will be missing out on fun experiences.” However, Reasor said adding more reading days to the academic calendar would have been beneficial to students. VCU will have two reading days on Feb. 23 and March 24, according to the release signed by VCU and VCU Health System President Michael Rao. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. More than 600 freshman students decided against attending VCU after receiving their acceptance letters –– a nearly 30% increase from the previous year –– making first-year students the most significant part of an enrollment drop at the university during COVID-19.
The number of accepted freshman applicants increased, but the portion of accepted freshmen who chose to enroll declined. In 2019, 29% of accepted students attended. For the fall 2020 semester, that dropped to 24%. “There was an increase of 200 students who changed their minds,” Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Tomikia LeGrande said during a board of visitors meeting. “This was during the time when many universities were releasing their COVID plans, and also during the summer of civil unrest in Richmond.” Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. Like most American universities, VCU reopened for the fall semester with thousands of cases still flooding through Virginia. The decision behind the university’s reopening was based solely on money, and as a result, no regard for safety was given.
Student tuition should have been allocated toward accurate COVID-19 tests and mental health resources for students. VCU took the initiative to test every residential student two weeks prior to move-in using oropharyngeal swab tests, which may have led to false negatives. According to a report by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, these swabs detected COVID-19 less frequently than nasopharyngeal swabs, which are administered through the nose. According to the report, “oropharyngeal swabs detected the COVID-19 virus less frequently than nasopharyngeal swabs and should not be used in place of nasopharyngeal swabs, particularly from day 8+ of symptom onset.” Asymptomatic students could receive prevalence testing via throat swab for free after filling out a survey, according to a university release. However, nasal swabs appear to be more accurate. If VCU prioritized its students’ safety, it would have provided better testing under professional supervision. Read the full story by The Commonwealth Times HERE. |