Gov. Ralph Northam held a COVID-19 briefing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss upcoming plans for handling the coronavirus pandemic. Northam began his briefing with an overview of the Virginia Department of Health’s recent COVID-19 update. Northam said that statewide, Virginia is averaging about 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, and the state’s percent positivity rate is at 6.8%. The percent positivity rate has been decreasing for 12 days, Northam said. Northam said that due to the added restrictions in the Hampton Roads area, the percent positivity of COVID-19 cases in the eastern region of Virginia has decreased for 16 days. Although an increase in occupied hospital beds had occurred, Northam and his team were “very pleased with the region’s progress, and last week [they] lifted the restrictions.” The southwest region of Virginia is seeing a rise in new cases, and percent positivity is at 8.1%. The central region of Virginia is not far behind, Northam said. Local health departments and officials continue to look at these statistics. “It is our behavior that will get this pandemic behind us,” Northam said. “I appreciate all Virginians being responsible and being a part of the solution.” Northam spoke briefly about the COVIDWISE app — which has had 515,824 downloads statewide. Virginia’s moratorium on rent and utilities expires on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and Northam said he has asked that it be extended until Oct. 5. This, he said, will give the general assembly the time they need to finalize the state’s budget. Meanwhile, $42 million in CARES Act funding has been funded for additional PPE distribution, and the Virginia National Guard is continuing to help with COVID-19 testing events. Northam then began discussing the 2020 election. Northam expects a high number of absentee voters this year; so far, the department of elections has received 790,000 absentee ballots by mail. Absentee ballots will begin to be sent out to voters on Friday, Sept. 18. Unlike past election years, you do not need to provide a reason to receive an absentee ballot. You can call or visit the website of your general registrar for your county or city to request an absentee ballot, or go online to vote.elections.virginia.gov. Absentee ballots will have prepaid postage and additional security measures, including a barcode that you can use to track your ballot. You can choose to mail your ballot or use a secure dropoff location at polling places and registrar offices on election day. Starting Friday, Sept. 18, you can vote early in-person at your local registrar’s office, until Oct. 31. Or you can vote in-person on election day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. CARES Act funding will help to ensure that all election officers will have PPE equipment, and increased sanitation efforts and social distancing will be enforced at polling places on election day. Northam also urged Virginians to complete the 2020 Census and to get their flu shot. September is suicide awareness month. Northam said that 17 veterans die by suicide each day in the United States. Any veteran who is having difficulty can call the Military Crisis Line and the Veteran Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255. You can watch the briefing below or on the governor’s Facebook page.
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September 16, 2020 at 09:40AM
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Harrisonburg City Schools plan with health department after positive COVID-19 case - WHSV
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