COVID-19 Community Information & Resources

To encourage social distancing, the Goochland County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) will be providing an additional service to our community during the COVID-19 crisis.  The GCSO Community Division is available to assist with delivering prescriptions to qualifying community members living in Goochland County.

The GCSO Community Division will pick-up prescription medication at the local pharmacies listed below and deliver those prescriptions to older adults and other county residents who are identified as having a higher risk of serious health complications if they were to contract COVID-19. This service will be provided for prescription medications only from the pharmacies listed below.

Pharmacies available for GCSO pick-up and delivery:

Goochland Pharmacy at 1956 Sandy Hook Rd.

Dawson's Pharmacy at 2728 Fairground Rd.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who are at higher risk from severe illness include adults 65 years of age or older, pregnant women, and those with underlying medical conditions that include heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, HIV and asthma.

Qualifying community members can take advantage of the program by following these steps:

1. Call your pharmacy and refill your prescription.
2. Pay for your prescription over the phone.
3. Tell your pharmacist that a Goochland County Sheriff’s Office Deputy will be picking the prescription up.
4. Find out when the prescription will be ready for pick-up.
5. Call the Sheriff’s Office at 804-556-5349 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and tell them you would like to have a deputy deliver a prescription ready for pick-up at a local pharmacy.
6. You will then provide your name, address, phone number and date of birth, as well as the name of your pharmacy and date and time when your prescription(s) will be ready.
7. A GCSO deputy will contact you when your medication is ready to be dropped off.
8. When the deputy comes to your house with the prescription(s), the recipient will be required to show the deputy a valid photo ID in order to prove ownership and sign for the prescription(s).

Goochland County Sheriff’s Office encourages everyone to follow the guidelines of social distancing and proper handwashing procedures. We hope this temporary service will help in limiting the spread of Covid-19 and further protect our community.

Goochland Cares 

GoochlandCARES, a community partner of Goochland County, is OPEN, they are monitoring the coronavirus, or COVID-19, situation carefully.  Their goal is to protect their staff, clients, and volunteers, while continuing to provide vital services as resources and circumstances allow.

Their plan includes minimizing person-to-person contacts by changing program delivery and cancelling group meetings and activities.  GoochlandCares will update procedures as necessary based on federal and state recommendations as we strive to deliver critical services to the most vulnerable in our community.

For additional information, please visit http://www.goochlandcares.org/ or call (804) 556-6260.

Goochland Business Resources

The Goochland County Economic Development Department recognizes the need to support our local businesses during these difficult times.  They have developed a dedicated website (http://www.goochlandforbusiness.com/241/COVID-19-Business-Information) to serve as a resource for Goochland businesses during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.  In addition, it contains a list of both businesses that are still open and those that are temporarily closed.

Businesses with questions or in need of assistance should contact Goochland County Economic Development at goochlandforbusiness@goochlandva.us or 804-556-5862.

Virginia Department of Social Services - Pandemic EBT Program
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has launched the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program in Virginia. This nutrition assistance program will provide benefits to school-age children who do not have access to free or reduced priced meals due to school closures. This includes children enrolled in public schools that provide free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision or CEP. Families do not have to apply to gain access to the  P-EBT.

VDSS has launched a dedicated website www.PEBTva.com where additional information and resources specific to the program may be accessed to assist families and community partners.  Regular updates on the status of the project will be made to that website.

Goochland Animal Protection - Donation of Dog & Cat Food

The Goochland County Animal Shelter is partnering with GoochlandCares to help people in the community.  Individuals interested in helping by donating dog or cat food (dry or can) can drop it off outside the temporary shelter (2748 Dogtown Rd, at the back of the Central High School Cultural & Educational Center.

Drop off times are:
Tuesday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Please donate only dog food and cat food (dry or can).

Access to Broadband in the Community

During this COVID-19, Coronavirus pandemic, the issues regarding access to internet services that many of our citizens experience every day are magnified.  There are limited resources that our community can access for free through both the county and private providers.

As a part of our community-wide broadband initiative (10 Steps to Broadband Internet Initiative), the county has established Goochland Area Wi-Fi Hotspots at all six fire-rescue stations and the county administration building.  Additional information on the Goochland Area Wi-Fi Hotspots is available in this document and at http://www.goochlandva.us/1101/Goochland-Area-WiFi-Hotspots.

Public internet access is also available in the school parking lots adjacent to Goochland County Public Schools school buildings from 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.  J. Sargeant Reynold Community College has also pushed their Wi-Fi signal to their parking lots.

Please remember to practice proper social distancing when you take advantage of these Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Private Providers
Comcast
Comcast has announced multiple actions that they are taking to assist customers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The actions are outlined in a post at https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19.

One of the actions is that Comcast Xfinity WiFi hotspots located in businesses and outdoor locations across the country are now available to anyone who needs them for free - including non-Comcast/Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Comcast/Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the "xfinitywifi" network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.

In addition, it's even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign-up for Internet Essentials, the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. New customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.  Additionally, for all new and existing Internet Essentials customers, the speed of the program's Internet service was increased to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.  That increase will go into effect for no additional fee and it will become the new base speed for the program going forward.  For more information on Internet Essentials visit https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19.

Verizon Wireless
Verizon has made a number of service improvements and is waiving numerous fees. In many cases they are offering additional gigabytes of high speed access for no charge.  You can find out more details by visiting https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/covid-19-faqs/ or by calling their Customer Service number (800) 922-0204 (M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.) or by contacting them online or via their app.

Sprint 
Sprint has made a number of service improvements including providing unlimited data, giving additional capacity to hotspot-capable devices, and waiving specific charges. Details on these improvements are available on their website at https://www.sprint.com/en/landings/covid-19.html. Their Customer Service number is (888) 211-4727.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile has recently merged with Sprint and has many of the same offerings as other providers, which are detailed on their website at https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/ongoing-updates-covid-19?icid=MGPO_TMO_P_CUSTSUPT_K49SR0SE1EB2Z9F6E20091_HP. If you need to speak to their Customer Service Department dial 1-800 TMOBILE or (800) 866-2453.

AT&T
AT&T also has special offerings and service improvements detailed on their website at https://www.att.com/help/covid-19/. Their Customer Service team can be reached between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days a week at (800) 331-0500.

CenturyLink
CenturyLink has suspended all data caps for at least the next 60 days and is waiving numerous fees. Additional information is available at https://news.centurylink.com/covid-19 or by contacting their Customer Support at (866) 642-0444.

HughesNet Satellite
HughesNet has increased speeds and download caps and has some limited information on their website at https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/About-the-Community/COVID-19-and-Your-HughesNet-Service-Updated-3-18-2020/m-p/120660#M1276. Their Customer Support team can be reached at (866) 347-3292.