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Reopening: Too early, or not soon enough?
UPDATED MAY 8 Gov. Ralph Northam is likely to loosen restrictions next Friday on “nonessential” businesses, allowing gyms, spas, theaters, dine-in restaurants and other enterprises to reopen after more than seven weeks, but feelings are mixed about the wisdom of this decision, given that Virginia saw a 36% increase in confir[...]
Localities can tighten restrictions after businesses reopen, Northam says
Reopening the state is “not written in stone,” Gov. Ralph Northam cautioned Wednesday during his regular COVID-19 news conference. It appears as if he will go forward with easing restrictions on nonessential businesses next Friday as previously announced, but the timeline could change, depending on various factors, i[...]
Northam says businesses could begin reopening as soon as May 15
Restaurants, salons, retail stores, gyms and other recreational businesses will likely begin reopening on May 15, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday. Unless “something drastically changes,” the governor said he expects to start reopening Virginia businesses in a phased approach at the end of next week. Nort[...]
FEMA sending three decontamination systems to Virginia
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved sending Virginia three decontamination systems that can collectively sterilize up to 240,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) per day for reuse, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Saturday. The Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems, which will be operat[...]
Task force mulls safety, economic concerns in reopening businesses
As the governor’s executive order shutting down all “nonessential” businesses is set to expire next Friday, a diverse group of two dozen Virginia business representatives is hard at work compiling ideas for how to reopen safely. The group — which includes officials from major employers Walmart and Amazon.com Inc., museum[...]
Virginia sees nearly 1K increase in COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
The Virginia Department of Health reported Friday that there are 16,109 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Virginia, as well as 572 deaths and 2,407 people hospitalized who have tested positive. This is an increase of 929 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, not counting 792 probable cases. As of Friday, 105,648 people have been […]
U.Va., VCU researchers battle pandemic
While health care workers scrambled to keep up with the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia, researchers in Charlottesville and Richmond were working to solve the pandemic. In March, VCU Health liver specialist and cancer researcher Dr. Arun Sanyal began testing remdesivir, an antiviral medication that is showing promis[...]
Ballad Health furloughs 200 Virginia workers
Not even health care systems are immune from the effects of COVID-19. Tennessee-based Ballad Health announced in early April it had furloughed between 200 and 250 Southwest Virginia employees to cut administrative costs and ensure it can keep critical frontline medical workers employed during the crisis. Other health systems op[...]
Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents names medical director
Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents in New Kent County, which treats patients who suffer from chronic illness, brain injury or neurological impairment, announced this week that Dr. Brett Sharp has been named as its medical director, which became effective April 20. Sharp, who has 29 years of clinical experience, has[...]
Newport News Shipbuilding moving from three to two shifts
Newport News Shipbuilding is moving from three shifts to two shifts beginning Monday, with a three-hour period in between to allow cleaning of high-touch surfaces, President Jennifer Boykin announced Thursday during a virtual news conference. As another response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company will also begin taking the te[...]
Nonemergency medical procedures to resume Friday
Virginia hospitals, outpatient care providers, dentists and veterinarians can resume performing elective surgeries and nonemergency procedures after a temporary ban expires at midnight Thursday, Gov. Ralph Northam announced during a news conference on Wednesday. “I want to encourage all Virginians that your health care is [...]
State COVID-19 cases now exceed 14,000
As U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed the 1 million mark, Virginia has 14,328 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 513 confirmed virus-related deaths in Wednesday’s Virginia Department of Health update. This marks an increase of 534 cases since Tuesday. Also, there are 2,252 people hospitalized who have tested positive, and 85,307 people in Virginia have been tested. According […]
