RICHMOND — Early last week, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was asked if there would be further restrictions imposed on the state as cases of COVID-19 continued to rise.
At the time he said none were being considered, but by Friday afternoon his office hadput out a press release with further restrictions.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Northam was asked about that change. The governor began by explaininghow he meets with health officials daily to see where in Virginia the cases are occurring. He said some of the data he heard during a meeting Friday morning helped change his mind.
But it was what was happening in other parts of the country that may have affected him the most.
"What really affected me is seeing mobile morgues outside of hospitals because there’s no place to put the dead,” Northamsaid. “We don’t want that to happen in Virginia.”
The latest Virginia Department of Health data showed Virginia with a total of 208,833 positive cases of COVID-19, including 2,071 new casesWednesday. There have been 13,707 hospitalizations and 3,860 deaths per the Virginia Department of Health. The current 7-day positivity rate is 7.1%.
Virginia Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said Wednesday that the case incident rate about a month ago was nine cases per 100,000 population. Now, Virginia is approaching 20 cases per 100,000.
Northam encouraged Virginians to reduce travel and gatherings at Thanksgiving, asking them to consider the risks not only to themselves but to their loved ones. He urged them to eat outside if possible and to have smaller gatherings.
"This year staying home is an act of love too," he said. "Protecting the people you care about, protecting your neighbors and community, even protecting strangers is an act of love."
In his press release Friday, Nov. 13, Northam announced several actions to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The actions went into effect this past Monday.
They included a reduction in the number of people allowed at both public and private gatherings from 250 to 25 individuals.
"If you look at the data the chances of getting infected, the larger the crowds, the higher the risk," Northam said Wednesday. "We looked at gatherings of 250, we looked at gatherings of 100, we looked at gatherings of 50, 25, 10. Obviously no gatherings, that would be the ultimate low risk. We chose 25. Again, looking at the data, we thought that would be a good starting place."
The governor did say all options are on the table and if he and his health officials decide the cap at 25 people is not helping reduce the numbers,they may adjust that limit.
Both outdoor and indoor settings are included in the reduction, but several gathering locations are not part of the new restrictions. Churches and schools are both exempt from the 25-person limit, as are private offices and businesses.
In part, the order read, “The presence of more than 25 individuals performing functions of their employment or assembled in an educational instructional setting is not a ‘gathering.’ A gathering’ includes, but is not limited to, parties, celebrationsor other social events, whether they occur indoors or outdoors."
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The Virginia Education Department also sent out an email Tuesday evening clarifying how the new restrictions apply to schools.
“The gathering limit doesnotapply to ‘educational instructional settings,’” the email read. “This includes classrooms, buses, cafeterias and recess held on school grounds.”
The email did state that any gatherings on school grounds that fall under the “celebrations” or “social events” category are prohibited.
Wednesday, Northam said that the state is very diverse when it comes to schools and, because of that, he'll continue to allow school localities to make the decision.
“I don’t have any numbers in mind when I’ll intervene," he said.
The limit does apply to school sporting events. Spectators at athletic competitions are limited to 25. That total does not include athletes, staff, trainers or coaches on the field.
Other actions the governor took included an expansion of the mask mandate to require all Virginians 5-years-old and older to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces.
"As a pediatrician I've always seen that children are very impressionable, number one, but also they can follow guidelines well," Northam said.
Northam also said that retail businesses, including grocery stores and pharmacies, that don’t adhere to statewide guidelines for physical distancing, wearing face coverings, and enhanced cleaning could be in violation of a Class One misdemeanor enforceable through the Virginia Department of Health.
"We are stepping up our enforcement," Northam said Wednesday. "But the majority of businesses across Virginia are really following the guidelines and they're doing the right thing."
In addition, restaurants and bars must stop sale of alcohol by 10 p.m. and must close by midnight. Patrons may not drink or possess alcohol after 10 p.m. in these establishments per the new requirements.
Virginia Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said Wednesday that he expects the state to have a vaccine by the middle of December. The initial rollout, which will be limited, in Virginia would be aimed at healthcare workers and first responders.
BothPfizer and Moderna have reported they are close to having a vaccine ready.
"By the turn of the New Year we expect that the vaccines that are available, production will increase so that we can finish this phase of covering all of the healthcare work force and first responders;critical work force in critical industries," Oliver said.
Oliver expects to see the production ramp up in the early months of 2021, plus there are other vaccines that could be ready by then. He estimated six or seven other vaccines "are pretty close to coming on board."
"We will enter a new phase in which we will start doing mass vaccinations," Oliver said. "All of these things we are quite prepared for."
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Oliver has had discussionswithGen. Gustave F.Perna who is leading Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's initiative to create and distribute vaccines for COVID-19.
Oliver said they have identified 14 "ultra-cold" sites in Virginia to store the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at minus-80 degrees Celsius. The Moderna vaccine requires storage at about minus-20 degrees Celsius.
"That's much easier to deal with," Oliver said. "We are prepared to handle that as well."
Northam opened his press conference Wednesday saying that the vaccines fromPfizer and Moderna are promising, and while that should give all Virginianshope it will still take some time to implement a vaccination plan. Until then, he encouraged people to continue taking precautions.
“This is in your hands Virginia,” Northamsaid. “You know what to do. If we do the right thing we will keep those numbers down, we'llkeep the curve flat and we'll be able to move forward."
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