COVID Memorial To Be Explored In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A COVID-19 memorial will be considered in Fairfax County to remember those who have lost their lives to the virus.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisor approved a board matter Tuesday seeking a cost estimate, timeline and design options for a COVID-19 memorial. If the memorial moves forward, it could be located on county-owned or Fairfax County Park Authority property. The board matter seeks information from the county's Facilities Management Department, Park Authority and other relevant agencies by May 1.

The board matter was presented by Chairman Jeff McKay. It comes nearly two years after the first COVID-19 case was identified in the Fairfax Health District, which includes the county and cities of Fairfax and Falls Church. According to the board matter, there have been over 170,000 cases the Fairfax Health District, resulting in over 4,400 hospitalizations and 1,284 deaths.

"Still, we know that everyone has been affected by COVID-19 in some way or another and we know these impacts will be with us forever," McKay wrote. "This is why my office has already been working with our senior County team on the creation of a COVID-19 memorial in honor of all those lost and impacted these last two years."