Fredericksburg COVID-19 Update March 30
Fredericksburg’s Interim Police Chief Brian Layton and Fire Chief Mike Jones provide a video update today on COVID-19 efforts by our public safety personnel in the City of Fredericksburg.Governor Northam has announced Executive Order Number Fifty-Five, which is a Temporary Stay At Home Order Due to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) effective today. This order is not included in today’s video update, but we encourage you to review the Executive Order online here: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/executive-actions/EO-55-Temporary-Stay-at-Home-Order-Due-to-Novel-Coronavirus-(COVID-19).pdf
Posted by Fredericksburg Government, Va on Monday, March 30, 2020
Interim Chief Layton reminds our residents that Police, Fire & EMS have implemented progressive staffing plans and use of PPE in an effort to minimize illness and/or potential quarantine. Our 911 center is staffed 24/7 and is prepared to answer emergency calls. Please keep in mind that if you call the 911 center you can expect to be asked questions related to symptoms of COVID-19. The responses received will assist our first responders with choosing their level of PPE during their response. Depending on the circumstances, our police officers may ask to speak with you outside of your home or business instead of inside. And we are encouraging phone reporting when possible for crimes where an offender is not present.
It is also important to note that although our City parks remain open, our City’s playground equipment, tennis courts, basketball courts, and pickle ball courts are closed in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, when utilizing our walking, running & biking trails throughout the City, remember to participate in social distancing and keep at least 6’ of distance between you and other users.
A reminder for everyone to be cautious of phone, text, internet, and email fraud. Bad actors are prevalent and they do their best to take advantage of people when the country is in crisis. Scammers will surely try to take advantage of the coronavirus stimulus package checks or payments. The bottom line is do not give anyone your PayPal account information, social security number, bank account number nor any of your personal information if someone claims such information is essential to sign you up for a stimulus check relating to the coronavirus pandemic. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instincts and contact the Fredericksburg Police Department if we can be of any assistance.
Mike Jones, Deputy Fire Chief shares the number of cases. As of noon today there were 144,060 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. with 2,605 deaths resulting from those cases. In Virginia there have been 12,038 persons tested for the disease with 1,020 presumptive positive cases with 136 of those hospitalized and unfortunately 25 deaths, around the state.
In our immediate area positive cases have increased to 33 total as of early today. Stafford has 23, Spotsylvania has 6 and we now have 2 positive cases in Fredericksburg and 2 in King George.
The City continues to provide full services to the public with a reduced footprint since City facilities are still closed to the public. We stand ready to assist you as much as we can through electronic means.
As the number of cases increases, one of the precautionary measures taken by EMS agencies is not allow relatives to ride with the patient in the ambulance and hospitals don’t allowed relatives or responsible parties into the emergency room with the patient unless they have been screened and then only one person at most. This often creates issues where the patient’s medications and medical history are not relayed to the first responders or ER staff in a timely fashion.
You can help by creating and up-to-date medical information, medications and emergency contact list. You can make multiple copies – one for you to carry, one on the refrigerator for the paramedics to find in an emergency, one for your primary doctor and one for the patient’s caregiver, if appropriate.
Things for the list:
- Up-to-date list of all prescribed medications for the patient
- All over-the-counter medications and supplements the patient takes
- Be sure to list the name, dosage, and frequency of the medication
- The reason for taking it, any dosing instructions, the start date and end date
- For prescription drugs had the pharmacy name and number and the prescribing doctor’s
- The emergency contact for the patient
- Any allergies or significant medical history for the patient
A simple word document off a computer will work, but if not available a legible hand written note is fine.
If you have questions about the coronavirus [COVID-19] you can reach out to the Virginia Dept. of Health’s call center. They are open 8:30am – 5pm at: 1-877-ASK-VDH3 that 1-877-275-8343.
You can always reach the City during normal business hours at (540) 372-1010 OR www.fredericksburgva.gov.
