By Taylor Boyd
Starting May 15, Virginia plans to relax a few more COVID-19 measures, Gov. Ralph Northam said at his May 6 press conference.
“This means 100 people at a social gathering indoors and 250 outdoors, 50 percent capacity for indoor entertainment venues, up to 1,000 people and 50 percent capacity outdoors with no cap. Restaurants will be able to return to selling alcohol after midnight, and dining rooms can stay open later,” Northam said.
If the COVID-19 numbers continue to trend down and vaccination rates keep going up, the state plans to lift the mitigation measures, capacity restrictions, and social distancing requirements on June 15.
“We’ll continue to evaluate our mask guidance,” Northam said.
He also noted that he expects the federal government to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 and older soon.
“Parents are eager for their children to be able to get their shots. Preliminary results from a VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) survey, tell us that a large majority of parents, 66 percent, plan to get their adolescence vaccinated, 63 percent will vaccinate their younger children when it’s available,” he said.
The state is experiencing a drop in the daily count of new COVID-19 cases, Northam said.
“For the past two weeks, we’ve had fewer than 1,000 cases per day in Virginia. Our positivity rate is now at 4.4 percent, and our seven-day average is now lower than it has been since last October, seven months ago.”
He said Virginia is seeing the lowest number of people hospitalized with a positive COVID test since last October, with 847 people across the state as of May 6. Virginia has also seen a dramatic drop in deaths in recent weeks, he added.
While vaccination rates still vary by locality, Northam said the state is doing well overall, with nearly 46 percent of Virginians receiving at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and one-in-three being fully vaccinated.
“Almost 80 percent of Virginians aged 65 and up have had at least one shot, and more than half are fully vaccinated. Three-fourths of our school personnel have had at least a first dose and two-thirds are fully vaccinated. Among everyone who is eligible to get a shot right now, almost 60 percent of people have received at least the first shot,” he said.
Northam added that the Department of Corrections currently has only seven active COVID cases, and 66 percent of the inmates in the state’s correctional facilities also have been vaccinated.
While these are positive signs, Northam said that like most other states, Virginia is seeing a change in demand for vaccines.
“We know there are a variety of reasons why someone who is eligible hasn’t been vaccinated yet. Some people may not know that they are eligible. I want to be clear, the only eligibly requirement now is that you are 16 and older, and soon that will probably be 12 and older,” he said.
To make it easier for people to locate and receive a vaccine, the federal government recently launched a text feature. Those interested may text their zip code to GetVax – 438829 and receive back three locations near them with vaccines in stock. To receive the information in Spanish, text Vacuna -822862.
“The bottom line is when you get vaccinated you protect yourself, your family, and everyone around you,” Northam said.
As of Wednesday, May 6, data from the Virginia Department of Health suggested there are 4,533 cases, with 347 hospitalizations, and 121 deaths in Henry County. In Patrick County, 1,347 cases with 104 hospitalized, and 43 dead. In the City of Martinsville, 1,588 cases were reported with 156 hospitalized, and 76 dead.
The data also suggests there are 665,332 cases in the state, with 28,820 hospitalized, and 10,874 dead. Information from the CDC suggested there are 32,356,034 cases in the United States and 576,238 dead from coronavirus.
Data also suggests that as of May 6, 2,892,227 Virginians have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
For more tips on how to stay safe, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov.
To locate COVID-19 vaccines near you, text your zip code to GetVax – 438829. To receive the information in Spanish, text Vacuna -822862.
