As virus cases rise across the country, Virginia is announcing new measures to fight the Covid-1 fight.
Among the requirements to be implemented at midnight on Sunday, attendance at indoor and outdoor gatherings will be reduced from 250 to 25, and the requirement for children to wear masks in indoor public places will be reduced from 10 to 5 years.
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Govi. “COVID-19 is on the rise across the country, and while cases aren’t growing as fast in Virginia as in some other states, I don’t want them to wait until then,” Ralph North said in a release Friday afternoon. “We are now working to prevent this health crisis from getting worse.”
Everyone is fed up with this epidemic and the restrictions on our lives. I’m tired, and I know you’re bored too. But as we saw earlier this year, this reduction works.
Virginia Govt. Ralph Northam
The following measures will be implemented at midnight on Sunday:
- Decrease in public and private gatherings: All public and private face-to-face gatherings should be limited to 25 persons, below the current 250-person cap. This includes outdoor and indoor settings.
- Expansion of the mask command: All virgins aged five and over are required to wear face masks in indoor public places. This extends the current mask mandate, which has been in effect since May 29 in Virginia and requires all individuals aged 10 and over to wear face masks in indoor public settings.
- Strong implementation within essential retail businesses: All essential retail businesses, including grocery stores and pharmacies, must adhere to statewide guidelines for physical distance, wearing facial ingots and extensive cleaning. While some essential retailers are required to comply with these rules as the best rule, violations will now be enforced by the Virginia Department of Health as a Class One misdemeanor.
- Alcohol curfew on the spot: The sale, consumption and possession of alcohol is prohibited after 10:00 pm in any restaurant, dining establishment, food, liquor, microbrewery, distillery, winery or yummy room. All restrooms, restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries and testing rooms should close at midnight. Virginia law does not distinguish between rest restaurants rent and bar, however, under current restrictions, individuals who choose to drink alcohol before 10 p.m. must be served in the restaurant and sit at a six-foot table.
Northam is also sharing a new video to residents of Virginia to update them on additional steps to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The average number of newly registered COVID-19 cases per day in Virginia averages 1,500, with a statewide peak of 1,200 in May, according to officials.
State officials say while Virginia’s per capita case count and positivity rate remain relatively low, all five health regions are seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases, positive tests and hospital admissions.
“Everyone is fed up with this epidemic and the controls over our lives. I’m fed up, and I know you’re fed up, too,” Northham said. “But as we saw earlier this year, these preventive measures are working. I am confident that we can come together as a commonwealth to bring this virus under control and save lives.”
Virginia’s new measures are the latest in a series of roll-back reopening and step-up safety efforts around the neighborhood.
The Columbia District now needs travelers from all states but tourists from four states test for COVID-19 once before traveling and again if they plan to stay in the district for more than three days.
In Maryland, state officials reversed capacity limits on indoor dining facilities and urged people to travel to states where coronavirus spreads very quickly.
Montgomery County has reduced capacity limits in many businesses, including indoor dining, by 25%. The county had earlier stopped granting liquor sales after 10 p.m.
Prince George County tightens restrictions and requires wearing a mask outside.
And in Frederick County, Maryland, the Board of Health decided to apply the new rules in both the county and the city of Frederick, starting at 5 p.m., Friday, to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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