Gov. Ralph Northam announced yesterday that the delayed reopening of Northern Virginia will start on Friday (May 29), but with that came a mandatory mask order for anyone in public places.
“Everyone will need to wear a face cover when you’re inside at a public place starting this Friday,” Northam said at his weekly coronavirus press conference. “That’s at a store, a barbershop, a restaurant, on public transportation, at a government building or anywhere where people can congregate in groups.”
Northern Virginia will join the rest of the state in reopening its economy on Friday, and that same day all Virginians will have to wear face masks indoors in public, Governor Ralph Northam announced today.
“Everyone will need to wear a face cover when you’re inside at a public place starting this Friday,” Northam said at his weekly coronavirus press conference. “That’s at a store, a barber shop, a restaurant, on public transportation, at a government building or anywhere where people can congregate in groups.”
Three more Alexandrians have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 37, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Two women and one man in their 70s are the latest victims of the virus. Two victims were black/African American and the third victim was Hispanic.
City Urges Residents to Use Caution Outside — “The City and the Alexandria Health Department urge everyone to follow Governor Northam’s order to #stayhome except for essential trips such as food purchases and medical care, and maintain physical distancing when possible.” [Twitter]
Beyer Lashes Out Against Senate Republicans — “Senate Republicans are refusing to consider more help for the American people during pandemic. Instead they are now prioritizing investigations of the President’s political rivals. They previously said they didn’t have time to hear from witnesses during the impeachment trial.” [Twitter]
There are now 1,577 cases of COVID-19 in Alexandria, which is an increase of 33 cases since yesterday.
There are also 34 fatalities related to COVID-19 in the city, and it has been four days since the last deaths, which were a man and a woman in their 80s, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
As Alexandria’s COVID-19 cases continue to surge, Governor Ralph Northam on Monday announced that 3,000 free COVID-19 tests will be administered in Alexandria on May 25, and that the state’s most impacted areas will get additional testing throughout the remainder of the month.
Virginia Department of Health and the Alexandria Health Department have not announced where the tests will be administered. There have been 4,986 tests administered in the city so far, and details are being finalized on where the new tests will be conducted.
Alexandria’s Hispanic population has the most number of COVID-19 infections, and on Saturday hundreds of residents in the city’s Arlandria neighborhood got free COVID-19 tests.
The tests were provided by the community health nonprofit Neighborhood Health, which partnered with the city for the event and tested 236 residents. Neighborhood Health will receive the test results from LabCorp within 48 hours of the testing and then reach out to the residents.
The following Letter to the Editor was written by John Liss, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, a statewide racial justice and pro-democracy organization based in Arlandria.
Perhaps no greater community illustrates the tone-deaf nature of ignoring the most vulnerable communities than Arlandria/Chirilagua.
“Northern Virginia is not the only area in the state that should have a delayed opening,” said John Liss, the co-executive director of New Virginia Authority in a Zoom press conference. “This is no consolation for uninsured or underinsured Virginians, for those who have to choose between taking care of their health, paying their rent or putting food on the table.”
Liss was joined by the Arlington NAACP, CASA, Care in Action, the Fairfax NAACP, the Loudoun NAACP, the Prince William County NAACP, the Richmond for All, the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, and the Virginia Student Power Network.
After extensive pressure from local leaders, from a congressman to a county board, Gov. Ralph Northam amended a plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions on Northern Virginia until May 29 at the soonest.
“We are pleased that the Governor is ensuring that we have the public health protections in place before we proceed to Phase 1,” said Mayor Justin Wilson. “That will ensure that our easing of restrictions will be permanent.”
Northam Says Northern Virginia Will Ease Restrictions More Slowly — “Northam said that more information about ‘how this will work’ for Northern Virginia localities will be released on Wednesday.” [Reston Now]
Metro Phased Reopening Plan Includes Face Mask Requirement for Riders — “In the first phase, trains will run every 20 minutes and buses will operate on a Sunday schedule. Service will ramp up slowly from there. All riders will need to wear masks to board a bus or train in the WMATA system. (Right now, that’s just a recommendation and request, according to Metro’s website.)” [Alexandria Living]
