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The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service. Follow this story and more by <a href='https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/health-science-environment-alerts/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=FREE'>signing up for health, science, and environment email alerts</a>.

The tally of known coronavirus cases in the District, Maryland and Virginia stood at 781 on Tuesday after Maryland reported an additional 61 cases Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 350. Virginia reported 36 more cases Tuesday for a total of 291. The District reported 21 new patients Monday, bringing its total to 141.

Here are some of the most significant and recent developments as the region responds <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/11/who-declares-pandemic-coronavirus-disease-covid-19/?tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4&tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4">to the pandemic</a> of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease covid-19:

From Monday: Virginia schools closed through June due to coronavirus, Maryland shutters ‘nonessential’ businesses

• Early Tuesday, Virginia Beach health officials said a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions had died from the virus. Later in the day, Henrico County officials announced that two people — both elderly residents of the Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center — had also died, bringing Virginia’s total to nine.

• Maryland announced a fourth person has died of coronavirus in the state — a Prince George’s County man in his 60s who had underlying medical conditions.

• Tuesday night, D.C. announced it’s largest single-day increase in cases to date: 46, bringing the total to 187.

• D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said ordered nonessential businesses to close starting at 10 p.m. Thursday. They include nail salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and tanning salons (see a more complete list in the post below).

• Bowser said it’s possible the city <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virginia-closes-schools-for-the-year-sending-districts-and-families-scrambling/2020/03/23/c423f70e-6d3b-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html?%20va._5&amp;%20va._5" target="_blank">will join Virginia in closing schools</a> for the rest of the academic year, but no such decision was imminent, according to four council members who were on a call with the mayor. The mayor said she and her health department are monitoring coronavirus data and measuring whether containment measures are working before making that call.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/07/maryland-virginia-dc-coronavirus/?tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4&tid=lk_inline_manual_12&itid=lk_inline_manual_12">Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/dc-maryland-virginia-coronavirus-cases/?tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4&tid=lk_inline_manual_12&itid=lk_inline_manual_12">Known coronavirus cases in D.C., Maryland and Virginia</a> | <a href="https://hosted-washpost.submissionplatform.com/sub/hosted/5e6fa518ba08180034aaa1ab">How are people helping others in your community? Tell The Post.</a> | <a href="https://wapo.st/virusletter">Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter</a>

<b>Earlier updates:</b> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/13/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 13</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/14/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 14</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/15/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 15</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/16/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 16</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/17/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 17</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/18/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 18</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/19/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 19</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/20/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 20</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/21/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 21</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/22/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 22</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/23/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 23</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/24/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/" target=_blank>March 24</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-maryland-dc-coronavirus-trump/2020/03/24/b81f4d4e-6dec-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_16" target=_blank>Read more about Tuesday’s coronavirus news here</a>.

John Woodrow Cox

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has ordered the closure of nonessential businesses — beginning at 10 p.m. Thursday — as coronavirus cases surge in the city.

The closure, which follows similar order in Maryland and Virginia, applies to salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and tanning salons, as well as sales not involved in essential services and professional services not devoted to helping essential business operations. The closure order also applies to clothing retailers, tour guides and door-to-door solicitations.

The mayor also lowered the threshold for prohibited mass gatherings from 50 to 10.

The order classifies a wide range of businesses as essential, including health-care facilities, pet care, essential infrastructure, food and household product sellers, liquor stores, dry cleaners, organizations serving the needy, media outlets, financial institutions, bicycle and auto repair and supply shops, delivery companies, childcare facilities and construction companies. Professional service businesses such as law firms and accounting firms may remain open but only to assist with “legally mandated activities” as well as essential business and government functions.

Bicycle shops are permitted to stay open despite the mayor saying they would be considered nonessential earlier in the day.

The order says essential businesses should comply with social distancing measures, including keeping staff and customers six feet apart.

On Monday, she and the governors of Maryland and Virginia discussed making the prohibitions on businesses consistent across the greater Washington region.

The mayor has already closed schools, nightclubs, gyms, theaters, massage parlors and health spas through the end of April. Restaurants and bars are limited to delivery and takeout and cannot serve customers on-site.

Fenit Nirappil

The District announced 46 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, the largest single-day increase to date. That brings the total number of cases in the nation’s capital to 187.

Bowser said Tuesday that the rising number of cases should not come as a surprise with the rising number of samples being tested. The District, Maryland and Virginia have reported 828 people testing positive for coronavirus as of Tuesday evening.

The spike is due, at least in part, to the District’s ramped-up testing efforts and the increased number of results it’s receiving: 274 today, compared to 103 yesterday and 174 the day before.

Metro is closing 19 stations to protect its employees from potential exposure to the coronavirus and keep the system running, the agency announced Tuesday night.

The closures, which begin Thursday, will also help the agency conserve cleaning and sanitation supplies. The 19 stations also include two that were closed last week to discourage people from visiting the Tidal Basin.

The 17 others include these, which are all within walking distance or proximity (less than one mile) to an adjacent station:

Mt Vernon Square, Judiciary Square, Archives 

With Metrorail ridership down 90 percent, the following stations with low ridership will also close:

Grosvenor-Strathmore (230 trips yesterday)

Even with the station closures, nearly 80 percent of Metrorail stations (72 of 91) will remain open for essential travel.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-to-close-19-stations-indefinitely-to-decrease-coronavirus-exposure/2020/03/24/84bc02f0-6de0-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_39" target=_blank>Read more here</a>.

Justin George

The novel coronavirus has killed two residents of a senior living facility in the Richmond area, Virginia health officials announced Tuesday night.

They had both lived in the Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Henrico County and were among several patients at the facility receiving treatment for the disease at a hospital, the Department of Health said in a statement.

Several other senior facilities in the region have also seen cases of covid-19, including the Westminster Canterbury Richmond, which houses about 900 senior citizens.

Nine people have died of covid-19 in Virginia, all above age 60.

It was not immediately clear whether the two Henrico County victims were included in the state’s overall case count of 291 on Tuesday.

Rebecca Tan

The District of Columbia has extended the deadline to file individual tax returns to July 15, in line with the federal tax extension.

The 90-day extension of the April 15 deadline is for individual and fiduciary income tax returns (D-40, D-41, and D-40B), partnership tax returns (D-65) and franchise tax returns (D-20, D-30).

D.C. officials are also allowing businesses to wait until July 20 to pay sales and use taxes due in February and March under an emergency coronavirus law passed last week.

The March 31 deadline to pay property taxes has not changed.

“Most people in our city are paying their property taxes along with their mortgage payments and they are in escrow, so we expect those payments from the mortgage companies,” Bowser said in a Tuesday call with older residents. “Other people may not be in that situation and have a tax due, and it will continue to be due. We certainly will work with our Chief Financial Officer to get out some information if you are unable to pay.” 

Drive-in Wants the Coronavirus to Go Away.

Playground is Taped Off So That Children Cannot Play There Due to Coronavirus Guidelines

The Maryland National Guard set up tents and generators in preparation for a coronavirus testing site at the FedEx Field parking lot in Landover, Md

Discarded Protective Gloves in a Parking Lot

A firefighter in Arlington County has tested positive for the coronavirus, a spokesman said — the first member of the force known to be infected.

Capt. Justin Tirelli said other members of the force who had contact with the infected firefighter are still working because they have not shown any symptoms. He said the decision was made in consultation with public health officials. Everyone on the force is being regularly monitored for signs of infection.

In a statement, the county said the firefighter was “managing the illness at home, with the full support of family and the department.” Health officials have investigated any “potential exposure” to members of the public, according to the statement.

In D.C., seven firefighters have tested positive and 118 have gone into quarantine because they interacted with someone infected. About 70 of those quarantined have been cleared to return to work after two weeks in isolation.

First responders in Arlington have begun taking non-emergency reports online, and the county has closed firehouses to the public in hopes of preventing outbreaks. Firefighters have also begun wearing new protective gear and, on calls, they don’t enter homes unless necessary.

Arlington had 36 positive cases as of midday Tuesday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Rachel Weiner

After the number of coronavirus infections in Fairfax County climbed to 46, officials there closed all county buildings to the general public Tuesday to encourage social distancing and protect employees from getting sick.

The order will go into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, though some buildings will remain open in a limited capacity, officials said. (The courthouse, which is not a county building, will remain open.)

All other county business will be conducted online, by phone or by mail. 

“This is to help protect the safety of our residents and our employees,” Jeff C. McKay  (D), chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said after announcing the closures at the end of a board meeting.

County Executive Bryan J. Hill  said Fairfax is trying to balance running Virginia’s largest local government with the need to slow the spread of the virus.

For example, the Fairfax County Office of Elections — which is coordinating local elections in May for the towns of Vienna and Clifton — will allow voters in those communities to turn in absentee ballots at the curb of the county government center.

“We are going to be … flexible in how we go forward in this new world,” Hill told the board.

Along those lines, the county supervisors approved an emergency ordinance Tuesday that would allow the board to meet virtually, with any audience tuning in to what would look like a Google Hangouts session.

The ordinance, approved unanimously, would allow the board to take that step should McKay determine it’s not safe to meet in person.

During a board meeting where supervisors Penelope A. Gross (D-Mason)  and Dalia A. Palchik (D-Providence)  were already participating through video feeds from their offices, McKay said the measure is meant to serve as a backstop in case of an emergency.

“This is on our agenda in an abundance of caution, should something really unpredictable happen,” McKay said as he and the other supervisors present inside a county conference room sat at least six feet apart. “It’s hard to say this definitively, but sitting here today, I don’t suspect that we will ever need to use this authority.”

The ordinance will be in effect for 60 days, with an option for the board to renew it, county officials said. If a virtual meeting does take place, public hearings on land-use issues and other matters would be held with testimony submitted in advance by the affected parties, officials said.

Next month, the board will consider another ordinance that would allow the county school board and other boards to meet virtually.

“This is, obviously, an evolving-by-the-day situation,” McKay said of the pandemic. “We’re learning as we go along.”

Antonio Olivo

Virus Outbreak Liberty University

Hundreds of students returned to Liberty University after spring break this week, even as colleges and universities across the country have sent students home to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Earlier this month, Jerry Falwell Jr., the school’s president, said on Fox News that people were overreacting to the coronavirus pandemic and that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/liberty-university-president-jerry-falwell-jr-says-in-person-classes-to-continue/2020/03/13/70b23a58-654e-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_85">the campus would open as usual this week</a>. A few days later, after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) banned gatherings of 100 people or more, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/liberty-university-now-says-most-classes-will-move-to-online-only/2020/03/16/6b89cf88-67b4-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_85">Falwell reversed course and said most classes would be conducted online.</a>

But the school’s decision to allow students to continue to live on campus if they choose to do so sparked outrage from some, who worry that the coronavirus could spread rapidly with so many people in such close quarters.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/03/24/liberty-university-campus-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_87" target=_blank>Read more here</a>.

Susan Svrluga

Laura Vozzella

The D.C. government has started accepting applications for grants from a new $25 million relief fund designed to help local businesses crippled by coronavirus restrictions.

Eligible businesses can receive up to $25,000 from the fund, created by emergency legislation signed into law last week. <a href="https://coronavirus.dc.gov/dc-small-business-recovery-grants" target=_blank>Information and applications can be found here</a>.

Any small business, nonprofit and independent contractor can apply for funding. Main offices must be in D.C., and individuals eligible for unemployment insurance can’t apply. To qualify, more than half of a small business’s employees, owners or sales must be based in the District.

“In the face of this unprecedented crisis, and while recognizing there is still a long road ahead, the DC Small Business Recovery Microgrant Program will begin to help some of our small businesses weather this storm,” D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), who chairs the body’s business committee, said in a statement.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has ordered the closure of nightclubs, gyms, theaters, spas and required restaurants and bars to suspend on-site service. Bowser also Tuesday said she will order the closure of nonessential businesses including salons, barber shops and tattoo parlors.

With long delays in the supply of personal protective equipment from the federal government, the office of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has sought help from dentists as well as people in the coal, tech and tobacco industries.

The state has already placed an order with a company overseas.

“We have some very promising leads from Virginia manufacturers about turning their production lines into producing PPE,” Northam said Tuesday. “Obviously, we have to verify that it’s medical-grade.”

The state doesn’t expect to receive its next shipment from the national stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves — critically important items for hospital staff — until next week.

“We know it will not be enough,” Northam said.

He said some companies have donated supplies and that the state is reaching out to others to see whether they will make their supplies of PPE available.

Northam said a couple of liquor distilleries are working on making hand sanitizer and that the Department of Corrections is producing “sneeze-guard” masks — 25,000 on Monday alone.

Daniel Carey, the state’s secretary of health and human resources, repeated his call for President Trump to make use of the Defense Production Act to order U.S. companies to manufacture needed supplies.

He said medical providers across the state and elsewhere — he had just spoken with officials at a Massachusetts health-care system — are “looking at weeks of supplies. If we don’t replenish that, we will be in a very severe situation.”

Carey said Virginia has placed an order for about 1 million surgical masks and 500,000 N95 masks, though it is unclear whether that was the overseas order Northam had referred to. His spokeswoman could not immediately clarify.

“The agreement was a 10-day delivery time,” Carey said. “In this environment, we’ll understand it and appreciate it when it shows up.”

Leaders in the Washington region Tuesday slammed President Trump for defying health experts and calling for the country to return to normal by Easter.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who has largely refrained from criticizing Trump, said her administration hasn’t received “any national direction,” and she condemned the president’s about-face.

“Clearly it is alarming to hear the president say that without medical and health guidance that he would put the economy and starting the economy ahead of saving lives,” Bowser said. “While we are confronting and trying to blunt the spread of the virus in our city, we are also looking ahead on how we are going to recover from this, and we think the president has to do that, too.”

The mayor has extended the closure of D.C. schools and many businesses as well as the ban on mass gatherings through the end of April, hoping that the extra time will allow health officials to determine if efforts to socially distance have worked.

“I think it would be, based on everything that I’ve read and been advised, premature to go back to normal before we have seen a blunting of the curve in the United States,” Bowser said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday morning that the messaging coming out of the White House was “pretty confusing” and that the president’s remarks don’t appear to align with actions taken by the federal and state governments.

“We don’t think we are going to be in any way out of this in five or six days or so or whenever this 15 days is up, from the time they started this imaginary clock,” Hogan said.

Health officials in Montgomery County also slammed Trump’s recent remarks at a Tuesday briefing with county lawmakers.

Travis Gayles, the county’s chief health officer, described Trump’s recent comments as “recklessly irresponsible, not based upon fact and, quite frankly, disgusting.”

Gayle, who has been praised as a calm voice during the outbreak, said Montgomery County would not pull back from strict social-distancing measures and that regional health officers are developing their own guidelines on the coronavirus.

The county’s head of emergency management, Earl Stoddard, said officials have considered using test kits from other countries because of the lack of federal support.

“We’re not waiting for the feds to step up,” said Gayles. “We’ve known that they’re just not, so we’re not waiting for that to happen.”

Though more measured, Va. Gov. Ralph Northam was also critical of Trump’s comments.

“While it would be nice to say that this really will be behind us in two weeks, that’s really not what the data tells us,” Northam said Tuesday at his daily news briefing. “The data tells us that this will be with us for at least two to three months, and perhaps even longer. So again, while our intentions are to get back to normal, I think we have to be realistic. And I think it’s very important that Virginians — that Americans — do not receive mixed messages."

Though Virginia’s public and private schools are closed for the rest of 2020, high school seniors will graduate on time, the state’s Department of Education said in guidance published late Monday.

The department has also asked educators to teach students at all levels the material they were supposed to learn through the end of the school year, Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane wrote in a memo to school officials — though he also recommended students not be given grades.

To catch children up, Lane suggested a variety of approaches, including online instruction, summer classes and an extended 2020-2021 school year that would incorporate the missed material.

Lane vowed that as his department works to ensure seniors graduate, it would be as flexible “as is prudent and allowable” under Virginia law.

“The governor and I agree that every student who was on a trajectory toward earning a diploma should be able to graduate on time and move on to the next stage of his or her life,” Lane said in a statement. “I hope the flexibility that I am announcing today will help students and teachers as they cope with the deep disappointment of having their time together unexpectedly cut short.”

Lane said his department is waiving requirements to ensure several cohorts of seniors graduate on time no matter what. That includes students who have not completed all of the courses previously required for graduation, those who have not passed formerly mandatory state testing, and those who lack certain career and technical education credentials. He said the power to waive other requirements, such as training in CPR and completion of a virtual course, lies with the Virginia General Assembly.

Last week, the Education Department asked federal officials to waive standardized testing requirements for students throughout the state.

Hannah Natanson

Lots of people take advantage of a glorious early spring day to visit the U.S. National Arboretum despite the coronavirus

The U.S. National Arboretum, one of Washington’s favorite and most sprawling outdoor destinations, closed to the public Tuesday.

“Effective today, the grounds and outdoor garden collections will be closed, and all activities and tours have been canceled until further notice,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in a news release, which also noted that the Arboretum’s visitor center had been closed since March 14.

Prosecutors in Charles County, Md., have been so busy filing motions arguing that inmates at the local jail should not be released out of concern over covid-19 that in at least one, they forgot to use the defendant’s real name.

Instead, they called him “Billy W. Badguy Jr.”

Public Defender Michael Beach said the document shows a dismissive attitude that “is just extremely troubling at a time like this.”

Even as officials across the country <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/prosecutors-press-to-release-inmates-drop-charges-and-thin-prison-population-in-response-to-the-coronavirus/2020/03/19/13005ee6-6948-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_138">have looked for ways to get and keep people out of jail</a> for fear of spreading the novel coronavirus behind bars, others have resisted changing public safety policy based on public health concerns. Some argue defendants are safer when detained.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/as-the-coronavirus-spreads-some-in-criminal-justice-system-resist-call-to-keep-people-out-of-jail/2020/03/24/ca3585d6-6ab1-11ea-abef-020f086a3fab_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_139" target=_blank>Keep reading</a>.

Tom Jackman

How coronavirus disrupted wedding plans

Whitney Shefte

A Prince George’s County resident became the fourth person confirmed to have died of covid-19 in Maryland, according to state health officials.

The man was in his 60s and had underlying medical conditions.

On Tuesday, state officials announced 61 new cases, bringing Maryland’s total to 350. Prince George’s had the biggest increase overnight, adding 16. The county has 63 known cases.

Earlier Tuesday, during a radio appearance, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) warned residents, including younger adults, to take the spread of the novel coronavirus seriously.

He said 40 percent of those infected were between ages 18 and 54.

“This has the potential to impact anyone,” Hogan said.

Ovetta Wiggins

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) toured the Baltimore Convention Center on Tuesday, where officials said 250 hospital beds will be set up as part of the state’s plan to add 6,000 in preparation for the coming surge of coronavirus patients.

The massive facility can hold up to three times that many beds if needed, Hogan said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will deliver beds to the convention center, possibly in the next 24 to 48 hours — though, Hogan added, nothing from the federal government has been arriving on time.

“I’m anxious to see this get done,” Hogan said, standing in front of Maryland National Guard Humvees that helped transport equipment. “This is going to save lives.” 

The state plans to use the site for covid-19 patients who need treatment but do not require an intensive-care-unit bed, officials said. It will be run by the nearby Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation and the University of Maryland Medical System, both of which could take patients in need of hospitalization.

“There are places around the country that are looking at tents,” Hogan said. “This is a lot better than a lot of situations we’re seeing. … It’s not a hospital, but it’s close.” 

Hogan said Tuesday that he cannot predict when the surge will happen or how big it will be. The state health department is still doing contact tracing — focusing on health-care workers and first responders — but the officials are starting to get overwhelmed by the number of positive cases.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the number in Maryland had climbed to 350.

Rachel Chason

Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley (D) is “restricting his own personal movements” because he has possibly been exposed to a person who may have coronavirus.

“I am working from home, continuing to do city business through telework and virtual meetings,” Buckley said in a statement.

The mayor said he does not have any symptoms and has not been tested. He said he was exposed to a person who has been tested for the virus and is waiting for the results.

He became aware of the possible exposure late Monday afternoon.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said as of Monday it is tracking 204 veteran patients with a positive coronavirus diagnosis, including eight in the District.

Five of those in Washington are in home quarantine, and three are hospitalized. Nationwide, two veteran patients have died of the disease.

The biggest cluster of cases is in New Orleans, where there are 65 cases — 20 in home quarantine, 44 hospitalized and one case pending. The VA said it has administered over 1,524 coronavirus tests nationwide.

Michael Ruane

Virus Outbreak Virginia

Virginia Beach health officials said Monday night that a seventh person in the state has died of the novel coronavirus and warned that the fatality could be part of a community spread of the virus in the city of 443,000.

A man in his 70s with underlying health conditions died of acute respiratory failure, the city’s health department said in a news release.

Health department officials said it’s too early to know how the man contracted the virus but said they are concerned that several recent cases in Virginia Beach point to community transmission. So far, Virginia Beach has 18 reported cases of infection, officials said.

“Elderly individuals and those with underlying health conditions are at greater risk of complications from covid-19, including death,” Demetria Lindsay, the city’s health department director, said in the news release. “These at-risk individuals are strongly advised to take steps to minimize contact with others who are ill, practice social distancing, and stay at home as much as possible.” 

Metro to close 19 stations as D.C. reports largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases; four new deaths announced in region

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