Henrico supervisors end local COVID emergency, recognize community members for support during pandemic

Sighs and applause were audible at the June 8 Board of Supervisors meeting as Henrico leaders ended the COVID-19 local emergency declared on March 13, 2020.

“As a result of this action the emergency ordinance adopted in September 2020 concerning procedures for public meetings, the conduct of public business and the county manager's authority to provide critical local services during local emergencies will no longer be in effect,” Emergency Manager Jackson Baynard said.

All necessary actions to address the emergency had been taken, Baynard said. Supervisors said they were thrilled to accept the resolution.

Supervisors also issued three proclamations of appreciation for community members and organizations that supported the locality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recipients of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors Distinguished Community Service Medals included:
• Richmond Raceway for offering its Old Dominion building and raceway itself as COVID-19 vaccination locations, facilitating 69 mass vaccination events that administered more than 165,000 vaccines;
• Westwood Pharmacy for working with the Henrico and Richmond Health Districts to coordinate the receipt, storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines;
• Rev. Dr. Emanuel Harris for assisting the HRHD in reaching people of color during the pandemic, communicating critical infrastructure information to at-risk and underserved community members and assisting in vaccination efforts;

The HRHD vaccination rate is one of the highest in the commonwealth because of those efforts, supervisors noted.

County Manager John Vithoulkas described the meeting as a “night of thanks” and said that the presentations were highly unusual because the board did not typically issue proclamations of appreciation.