Northam announces VDH enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Tuesday announced that the Virginia Department of Health will be enforcing COVID-19 guidelines, primarily in the Tidewater region. The measure comes as a result of a recent spike in cases in the Hampton Roads area.

“It’s clear that step one is stronger enforcement on the regulations” Northam said. “It’s because, quite frankly, of the non-compliance,” he said.

While Virginia has done well during the re-opening of the state’s economy, there is still the possibility that the virus could experience a resurgence and spike, just as Florida has recently, he said.

“The overwhelming majority of the people in the commonwealth have been doing the right thing … However there is a number of people who have in fact been not following the guidelines and as the governor says, we are going to get much stricter in enforcing those guidelines,” said Dr. Norm Oliver Virginia’s state health commissioner.

Any business with patrons who don’t comply with the guidelines has the right to remove them from the premises for trespassing.

Any businesses that violate the state’s guidelines will have their permits and licenses suspended and receive a citation – a Class One misdemeanor. The state will look to reestablish the citation as a civil penalty, in keeping with Northam’s stance earlier this year that the commonwealth doesn’t want to cause substantial trouble for businesses or citizens.

“We have about 500 inspectors across the commonwealth,” Oliver said. “We will augment that workforce over the next several weeks, adding another 100 or so inspectors so that we can ensure that we do our best to prevent the spread of this disease.”

According to Northam the increase in cases in Hampton Roads cases comes from bars that aren’t complying with the guidelines.

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