With COVID-19 metrics mostly remaining steady, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday that Virginia will stay in phase three of its reopening and urged Virginians to exercise caution during Labor Day weekend.
In every region of the state, the daily increase in positive novel coronavirus cases has remained mostly steady. Percent positivity also has remained mostly steady but has begun to trend slightly upward in the past week.
The seven-day moving average for percent positivity statewide was about 7.7 percent Friday, but previous weeks steadily had been below 7 percent. The Eastern region continues to be worse than the state average, with its percent positivity rate staying around 9 percent. The region had a mid-July spike that surpassed 12 percent, but it has dropped steadily, getting closer to the state average.
“The reality, though, is that this virus is still alive and well around the commonwealth of Virginia, and we have to continue the guidelines and be vigilant,” Northam said Tuesday during a news conference. “And so overall, the coronavirus is moderately contained in Virginia, the case numbers remain steady and the percent positivity is not spiking.”
Northam said Virginia is headed in the right direction and the state should celebrate that success in these tough times. He also said he does not want another spike similar to the one the state saw after other holidays, such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
With a holiday weekend approaching and schools and colleges reopening soon, Northam said the state cannot scale back restrictions and risk another spike. He said Virginians must remain vigilant and the administration will continue to closely watch the trends.
For the holiday weekend, Northam said large gatherings still are not a good idea, and he encouraged Virginians to follow social distancing guidelines, wear face coverings and restrict gatherings to outdoor locations. He said the virus has been around for two seasons, and he expects it to remain throughout fall and winter before a safe vaccination is found.
The governor also announced about 460,000 Virginians have downloaded Virginia’s voluntary COVID-19 tracking app, COVIDWISE, accounting for more than 5 percent of the state’s population. Northam said the app has been successful and 51 people received push notifications Monday that they likely were exposed to COVID-19.
