Thursday, March 28, 2024

Northam finalizes $27 million contract for much-needed PPEs

WYDaily file/Courtesy of Unsplash)
WYDaily file/Courtesy of Unsplash)

As the coronavirus (COVID 19) continues to spread across the commonwealth, the state has made arrangements to prepare for a surge of more cases.

Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday Virginia has finalized a $27 million contract for more personal protective equipment with Northfield, a Virginia-based logistics company. The first shipment arrives from Asia in a week.

As of Monday, James City County has 118 positive cases of the coronavirus , Newport News has 54, Hampton has 41, York County has 21, Williamsburg has 13 and Poquoson has 3, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s website.

There are 2,878 positive cases and 54 deaths statewide. At least eight people from the Peninsula Health District and one person from the Hampton Heath District have died from the coronavirus.

The Peninsula Health District covers Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City County and York County. The Hampton Health District covers Hampton.

In addition, the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services is building genetic technology to build a library of information based on positive coronavirus cases from state, private and university labs. DCLS is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, International Public Health and university partners.

“One thing they have already learned, it appears that the virus was introduced in Virginia in multiple communities,” Northam said.

He said another contract is with SD truckings who will handle logistics and distribution of 56,000 Meals-Ready-To-Eat to food banks, which will supply them for the next six weeks.

Besides shipping out hand sanitizers, Northam said Virginia Health Department will ship out 1 million old H1N1 masks to the hospital association, and the VDH will send a third round of supplies from national stockpile to Virginia hospitals.

Brian Moran, the state’s secretary for Public Safety and Homeland Security, said the PPE shipment includes n95 masks, gloves and gowns.

Health care

  • PPE contract- will order more supplies.
  • Rapid testing:- 10-20 available, test kits are not.
  • Face coverings: CDC issued new guidelines to wear cloth face coverings in public, ie, going to the grocery store. Wash mask once a day; no citations for wearing masks in public.
  • Private labs: Reduction in backlog.
  • Sentara: In house testing available.
  • Recovery numbers: Officials said the data is not collected.
  • More hospital sites? Not at this time.
  • State mandated PPE for staff in long-term care facilities? Not at this time.

Other updates

  • Social distancing: Northam said nearly half of cases are people younger than 50.
  • Construction projects: Adhere to social distancing, ie six feet apart.
  • Modeling expected surge capacity: New report this week.
  • Jail reduction: 2,351 inmates parole eligible; 95 were released in March; 90-95 percent of population are incarcerated for violent offenses.
  • Non-essential business: Can stay open if social distancing rules and 10 or less people or more is maintained.

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Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

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