Governor Northam says Virginia is adopting federal guidelines announced yesterday — and limiting gatherings in the state to no more than 10 people.
Northam urges all restaurants to provide takeout service only — and employees impacted by state-mandated closures will be immediately eligible for unemployment compensation. It comes as the number of coronavirus cases in the state climbs to 67 — none of them in the Roanoke and Lynchburg region.
The governor has ordered all DMV offices to close until further notice, but the agency’s on-line processes will continue.
Governor Northam says Virginia is adopting federal guidelines announced yesterday — and limiting gatherings in the state to no more than 10 people.
Northam urges all restaurants to provide takeout service only — and employees impacted by state-mandated closures will be immediately eligible for unemployment compensation. It comes as the number of coronavirus cases in the state climbs to 67 — none of them in the Roanoke and Lynchburg region.
The governor has ordered all DMV offices to close until further notice, but the agency’s on-line processes will continue.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Restaurants, gyms, and theaters in Virginia will not serve more than 10 customers at a time under an order the governor issued Tuesday in response to the coronavirus.
Gov. Ralph Northam also urged Virginians to comply with new federal guidelines not to gather in groups of more than 10 and for people older than 65 to self-quarantine.
Several other states and cities have ordered restaurants and bars to close, which Northam said he did not favor. Speaking at a Capitol news conference, he said Virginians get about half their meals from restaurants and an outright ban would be harmful. He also said he hoped that Virginians would voluntarily comply with the new measures.
“I’m much more about carrots than I am about sticks,” Northam said. “Hopefully we get to the point where we don’t have to do a lot of enforcement.”
Northam’s announcement came a day after the White House released a series of sweeping guidelines that for the next 15 days will temporarily rewrite the norms of American society. They include the recommendation not to gather in groups of more than 10 people and that discretionary travel and social visits should be avoided.
The governor had previously banned all public gatherings of more than 100 people and ordered schools closed for two weeks.
Many restaurant owners in Richmond had already decided to shut down, even before the new restrictions announced by Northam.
Liz Kincaid, co-owner of four restaurants in Richmond, closed them all on Monday. She said business at the restaurants was way down last week amid coronavirus fears, and employees were growing increasingly concerned about potential exposure to the virus.
“It’s a pretty sad moment right now,” she said Tuesday. “It was an extremely difficult decision. A lot of our staff have been with us for a long time __ for years __ and I just hope they understand. … We felt it would be socially irresponsible to stay open at this point.”
The YMCA announced Tuesday that it will temporarily close all of its facilities in the Richmond area. Tim Joyce, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Greater Richmond, said the closings are being done in an attempt to help “flatten the curve,” the phrase used to describe efforts to slow the spread of the virus so the healthcare system does not get overwhelmed.
“These are unprecedented times unlike any we have been through,” Joyce said in a statement.
Northam said the state would waive a one-week waiting period for people seeking unemployment benefits and expand eligibility to certain workers affected by business closings.
The governor also asked younger people to take precautions to avoid spreading the virus to others.
“Do not go to St. Patrick’s Day parties tonight. If you do, you are literally putting others at risk,” Northam said.
The governor said he was also ordering the temporary closure of Department of Motor Vehicle offices around the state.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Virginia had 67 cases of the virus, up from 51 the day before. That includes the first known instance of someone at a long-term care facility testing positive for the virus.
“This is very concerning,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said.
He said the state was actively investigating the case and working with the nursing home to isolate the patient so the virus doesn’t spread to others at the facility.