Heather Curtis
MARYLAND (WMAL) – The leaders of Northern Virginia say they are not ready to start reopening Friday if the rest of the state does as planned, and Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday they would be able to reopen more slowly.
The mayor of Alexandria and chairs of the Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William County boards of supervisors wrote to the governor Sunday asking him to allow localities to make their own decisions based on the numbers. Northern Virginia has the most COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state.
“We eagerly wish to rebuild our economy and help our residents recover. It is only through our regional achievement of these milestones that we will be positioned to avoid a more damaging return to business closures later in the summer,” the letter said.
In the past 24 hours, Northern Virginia reported more than 700 new cases, according to Northam, while the rest of the state had fewer than 300. While the entire state is seeing declines in the percent of tests that come back positive, Northam said Northern Virginia has a 25% positivity rate, while the rest of the state has around a 10% positivity rate.
Some have argued the state needs to reopen so small businesses aren’t forced to close for good and so people can get paychecks again. Others say reopening will exacerbate the pandemic. Unless the numbers change, Northam said the state will move into Phase I of reopening Friday, which will allow people to get haircuts with appointments, eat at outdoor sections of restaurants and attend religious services so long as houses of worship are at no more than 50% capacity.
A reporter asked Northam at a press conference Monday if residents of Northern Virginia would be restricted from traveling to open areas of the state if their region opens more slowly.
“While we’re not restricting them from traveling elsewhere, we would certainly encourage them to maintain the same guidelines that we have been talking about all along,” Northam responded.
He said the relationship with Maryland and Washington, D.C. plays a role in when Northern Virginia will be able to move into Phase I.
“If you look at the statistics – the data, the number of cases, the percent positives – that whole area is so dense, and they’re all kind of sharing the same challenges,” Northam said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said last week the state could start moving in to Phase I this week, but leaders in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties say there are too many cases and deaths in those areas to do that in their municipalities. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city is also not ready to reopen.
Northam said the state will continue to work with leaders in Northern Virginia to figure out a slower reopening and said he would explain how that would work at another briefing Wednesday.
Northam expects to make a decision about reopening the rest of the state by Wednesday.
Copyright 2020 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. Photo Gov. Ralph Northam via Facebook
