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Virginia will not use Inova’s Merrifield campus as a coronavirus field hospital

The former Exxon Mobil Corp. campus in Merrifield will not be used as a field hospital as Virginia contends with the coronavirus crisis.

Both Inova Health System, which controls the 117-acre property, and Clark Mercer, Gov. Ralph Northam’s chief of staff, confirmed to the Washington Business Journal the complex was taken out of the running after an initial tour by state agencies and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The three field hospitals Virginia settled on included the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly and convention centers in Hampton and Richmond. The sites were selected because of their proximity to existing hospitals and because they are in areas where the state expected a need would arise for additional hospital beds. In the case of the Dulles Expo Center, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital is just five miles away.

On Tuesday, Virginia hit pause on all three sites because estimates are showing the commonwealth has enough hospital beds to meet expected demand, according to the Associated…

Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.

Fairfax County firefighters come home after assisting Colombia earthquake victims

Ten Fairfax County firefighters who are part of Virginia Task Force 1 returned late Thursday from helping coordinate a rescue effort after the devastating earthquake in Colombia. Family members greeted the team as they arrived in Chantilly Thursday night. A young girl held a sign that read "Welcome Home Daddy." For Andy Kassavetis, this was his first mission with Task Force 1, and seeing the devastation in Colombia put some things into perspective for him. He said he saw firsthand "how impactful an event can be on a community. It makes you think about, you know, really when you come home sharing the love with the people around you and letting them know you’re there with them, because things can change really quickly.”
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