Virginia's confirmed COVID-19 cases rise to 152

Virginia now has 152 confirmed cases of COVID 19, including 25 in Central Virginia. Laurie Forlano, Virginia’s director of the office of epidemiology made the announcement during a press briefing this morning.

State officials have revised testing procedures to prioritize testing for first-responders and medical personnel who have been in contact with or may have been in contact with patients who have the virus, Forlano said.. They’re also focusing on testing people who have been exposed to the virus in the clusters where it’s been more prominent and in cases when flu has been ruled out as the cause of patient symptoms.

At the same press briefing, Governor Ralph Northam warned people to be wary rumors, such as one he said he’s heard suggesting that he is planning to deploy the National Guard and lock down the state. He said no such plans are in place at this time but that he had activated the guard to be on standby should its services be needed.

Northam also provided a stern warning to businesses that are not following his order to limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer, specifically mentioning that any restaurants, gyms or theaters that continue to ignore the order could face misdemeanor charges and lose their operators’ licenses on the spot. He later said that none have been charged so far.

Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dan Carey said that the state is pursuing a variety of leads to acquire as many personal protective equipment kits, or PPEs, as it can to provide to first-responders. But, he said, “this is a national problem. This will not be solved without a national solution.”

The state is working with manufacturers who might be able to produce the N95 and N99 masks that frontline workers need to protect themselves from the virus, he said.

Northam was noncommittal about whether he would consider enacting a lockdown or limiting movement in areas of the state where the virus has been more prominent, such as northern Virginia. He said his office monitors the matter on a minute to minute basis and added quote “We will do what we need to do to enforce.”

He urged Virginians to be smart and abide by his direction to protect themselves and others – including first-responders.

“They are literally our first line of defense.”