Northam: Phase one of reopening could begin next week
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam yesterday said that the state could begin to reopen for business as early as next week. During his press briefing in Richmond, Northam extended by one week an executive order that keeps nonessential businesses closed – now through May 14 – but said that if current trends in COVID-19 case counts continue, the state could enter the first phase of its reopening at that point.
About 20,000 people in Virginia have tested positive for the virus, but the percentage of those testing positive day by day is beginning to decline, he said.
The move would come with a number of ongoing restrictions, though, and the state would still limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer. The phase could last as long as a month, depending upon what test results show, Northam said. People still would be encouraged to work from home when possible.
The second phase of a reopening also could last as long as a month, and social gatherings would be limited to no more than 50 people during that phase, Northam said.
During a third phase, there would be no social gathering restrictions, even as the state continued to encourage people to be “safer at home.”
The Republican Party of Virginia yesterday continued to blast Northam’s handling of the pandemic, saying he is responsible for Virginia’s lack of sufficient testing to date and saying that by failing to reopen the state he is costing many state residents their jobs and livelihoods.
