As states across the country move to reopen their economies in spite of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Virginia GOP officials are criticizing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s failure to provide widespread testing.
On Wednesday, the Republican Party of Virginia released a statement that included data showing the state ranked second-to-last in coronavirus testing nationwide. According to the numbers, compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Virginia has only administered 10 tests per 1,000 residents while states such as Utah, Louisiana, and New York have performed over 30 tests per 1,000 residents.
“Governor Northam has yet to give a real answer as to why Virginia has lagged so far behind the rest of the nation in this battle against COVID-19,” John March, communications director for the Virginia GOP, wrote. “Instead of taking responsibility for his failed governorship, Northam has shifted blame to the Trump Administration, even though states like Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina have far outpaced Virginia.”
“At first, Gov. Northam blamed the Trump administration for not getting Virginia the resources needed to conduct tests,” Virginia House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert wrote in a statement. “Then we learned that Virginia has testing capacity sitting idle. The governor then said we lacked the swabs and other testing materials. Yet other states have managed to obtain these resources. Something is fundamentally different – and possibly wrong – with the way Virginia’s testing is being handled. Virginians deserve answers, and they deserve them now.”
On Friday, Virginia Health Commissioner Norman Oliver came under fire after he said that Northam’s “phase one” plan, which bars nonessential businesses from opening, could last as long as two years. Oliver later clarified that he meant the coronavirus could last two years, but skeptics who have criticized the Virginia government’s response said the commissioner’s comments highlight a looming failure for state officials to get on the same page in terms of strategy to slow the virus’s spread.
“Enough is enough,” said Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jack Wilson. “Ralph Northam needs to answer for his failure to lead Virginia through this crisis. Enough with the platitudes, enough with the grandstanding, and enough with putting Virginia families 49th.”
Northam has shuttered nonessential businesses in the state and extended its stay-at-home order through June 10. His order closed indoor gun ranges and faced a legal challenge by one in Lynchburg. On Monday, a judge issued an injunction allowing such ranges to stay open, ruling “that the right to keep and bear arms is not relegated to the outskirts of the city and of fundamental rights jurisprudence.”
