In his hour-long Twitter Q & A the morning of April 14, @jeffreymckay, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Jeffrey C. McKay, responded to questions. Amid the many concerns tweeted via #askChairMcKay, most centered on COVID-19, the county budget and the like. However, McKay answered questions about plans for farmers' markets and electric flying taxis in the County as well.
McKay tweeted that the Board of Supervisors set aside $2.5M to lease hotel space for housing the homeless during the pandemic with several hotels on line or coming on line with more than 200 rooms. He said, "The focus is doing what we must for the homeless who become sick or are at great risk of terrible outcomes; namely, isolation and quarantine with adequate social distance per CDC and HD guidelines." McKay added that the County hoped to receive reimbursement from FEMA for most of the hotel costs.
Ryan @ ryanlienesch asked about antibody COVID-19 testing. McKay said a test was in the pipeline that would be able to show past infections. John R. Feroldi tweeted, "Is it possible to list cases more specifically by zip code or political district. Other municipalities provide more granular reports." McKay said that the Health Department would have a dashboard online shortly with demographic case data. In answering a question by Joseph Alejandro about policies to help undocumented Fairfax residents during the pandemic, McKay said that the actions the County takes combatting the pandemic were meant to help all county residents regardless of citizenship status. "We view the needs of the community through the One Fairfax lens," McKay said.
A tweet by BelwayBleu asked about County plans to get "us into the community again." According to McKay, the County is currently in the acceleration phase of its epidemic curve. "Modeling projections indicate that social distancing efforts are working, that's why it's important to not let our guard down. If we lift social distancing restrictions too soon, it could quickly lead to a 2nd wave," he said.
McKay also responded to a tweet about farmers' markets. He said the staff was working on a plan to meet social distancing requirements using health and social distancing related guidelines. As for Brian Garrett-Glaser's Tweet: "The aerospace world is investing billions in developing electric flying taxis — think cheaper, safer, quieter, emission-free helicopters. Do you think these should play a role in Fairfax Cty's future transportation system?" McKay answered that too. "The Federal Aviation Administration is studying this concept now to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the small helicopters you describe. There may be some applicability to Fairfax County. We are interested in reviewing the results of the FAA's research," he tweeted. Visit https://twitter.com/jeffreycmckay to learn more.