The Shadow
RICHMOND — Virginia may move to Phase II of Gov. Ralph Northam’s business reopening plan next week.
Northam said his administration will continue to monitor data, and if current COVID-19 trends continue, the state will move to Phase II of “Forward Virginia” on June 5.
“We want to be very careful and deliberate as we move to Phase II. We don’t have the data yet,” Northam said as he addressed the media in Richmond on Thursday.
Most of Virginia has been in Phase I?of Northam’s reopening plan since May 15. Northern Virginia, Richmond and Accomack County joined Phase I Friday.
Under Phase II, the number of people allowed to attend a social gathering will be raised to 50. Restrictions on businesses will be further eased.
Segments of the population considered vulnerable to COVID-19 will be advised to stay at home. Social-distancing guidelines will remain in place and workers will be advised to continue teleworking instead of reporting to their workplace.
As the governor considers moving to Phase II, he said trends indicate that the percentage of people testing positive to COVID-19 in relation to overall tests continues to go downward.
He said Virginia has growing supplies of personnel protective equipment on hand and testing is expanding daily.
CVS began offering self-testing to its customers at 39 locations on Friday. Testing is not available at CVS stores in Covington and Clifton Forge.
Face-Covering Enforcement
Northam re-emphasized that the Virginia Department of Health will be in charge of enforcing a face-covering mandate that took effect Friday.
Virginians over the age of 10 must wear a face covering while indoors in public spaces, including churches. Northam compared wearing a face covering to being required to wear a shirt or shoes in businesses.
“Please act responsibly to reduce the chance of getting or spreading the virus,” Northam said in making an appeal to the public.
Rita Davis, who serves as counsel to the governor, sought to clear up confusion over enforcement of the mandate.
“This is not a new process. It is the same process by which public-health emergencies are enforced,” she said.
If a businesses commits “egregious and repeated” violations of the face-covering order, Davis said VDH can follow a civil process and seek an injunction to enforce the measure.
Health officials would also have the option of having a magistrate issue a warrant against the business.
“It is the personal responsibility of each and every one of us to comply with the order,” Northam said.
“The intent of this is to do it right … and take care of the people around you. It’s not to lock people up,” he added.
Local police could become involved if a customer becomes confrontational after a business owner asks the person to wear a mask.
Northam has said he will ask the General Assembly to create a civil penalty for enforcing the face-covering requirement. Lawmakers are expected to meet in July or August.
U.Va. Model
A University of Virginia COVID-19 forecasting model says that if the state experiences a slight rebound in confirmed cases of the disease as restrictions are eased, a peak will occur the week of Aug. 9.
However, U.Va. says if the rebound is strong, confirmed cases will peak the week of July 26.
Any peak in new cases and the severity depends on the public practicing social distancing, U.Va. researchers say.
A “light rebound” in cases on Aug. 9 would occur if people’s interactions return to one-sixth of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest U.Va. model.
But if people interact even more, returning to one-third of pre-pandemic levels, the model suggests, the peak will be higher and come the week ending July 26.
Northam said he had not reviewed the new U.Va. projections.
“We now have better ability to test and do more tracing. We are looking at the data … we will just take this on a day-to-day basis,” the governor said.
Earlier in the week, Northam admitted that he has not been tested for COVID-19.
“I intend to get tested soon, as well,” he said Thursday.
Local Cases
Data posted by the VDH show there has been a steady increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Highlands.
Friday, VDH reported 19 confirmed cases in Alleghany County and three in Covington. On Tuesday, Dr. Molly O’Dell, director of communicable disease prevention for Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts, said there were five confirmed cases in Covington.
Bath County was still reporting no confirmed cases on Friday.
