Elected leaders and health officials warned Gov. Ralph Northam that Northern Virginia will not be ready to begin reopening by his target date of Friday, May 15 in two letters Sunday, May 10.
Northam’s plan for a slight relaxation in business restrictions is contingent on a downward trend in new COVID-19 cases, including fewer new infections, fewer hospitalizations, and increased supplies of personal protective equipment and testing. Health Department directors from Loudoun, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William County all wrote to the state health commissioner to say, right now, in the state’s most densely populated region, those metrics are either unmet or impossible to determine.
Based on that, they wrote, Northern Virginia is not yet ready to move into reopening.
Those localities’ mayors, chairwomen and chairman wrote to Northam in a separate letter to concur. Those localities account for just over a quarter of the state’s population; they pointed out that they also represent half of Virginia’s COVID-19 cases. And while they agree with the governor’s metrics for deciding when it’s time to start reopening, they said this region isn’t there yet. And they warned reopening too soon will only lead to more damage to businesses.
“While it is certainly useful to examine statewide metrics as we gauge the success of current public health policies, we feel strongly that any changes to current policies be guided by what is occurring in our region,” they wrote. “We eagerly wish to rebuild our economy and help our residents recover. It is only through our regional achievement of these milestones that we will be positioned to avoid a more damaging return to business closures later in the summer.”
Region health officials wrote to Northam that Northern Virginia, unlike the state at large has not yet seen 14 days of slowing hospitalizations, and has not yet been able to set up infrastructure for contact tracing and supplying PPE to everyone who needs it, specifically outpatient facilities, long-term care facilities and first responders.
Without more information from the Virginia Department of Health, they wrote, they cannot determine whether the region has seen more testing and a downward trend of positives tests.
Northam’s plan issued Friday, he noted, was to serve as a baseline. Pointing specifically to Northern Virginia, he said local leaders can set stricter requirements.
According to the state, as of Sunday, there have been 1,159 cases in Loudoun County, including 115 people hospitalized and 30 deaths.
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Loudoun, NOVA Unlikely to Enter Phase 1 Re-opening This Week - Loudoun Now
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