VIRGINIA — Virginia is still on track for the tentative first reopening phase on Friday, May 15, but Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday he will work with localities if leaders believe stricter guidance is warranted. State officials are having discussions with local leaders such as those in Northern Virginia, which is seeing some of the highest cases numbers of the new coronavirus.

Northam described the first of three reopening phases as a “floor” and said the final decision for restrictions on the local level lies with him.

“As we get closer and if [local leaders] have concerns and want to raise that floor…for another week to whatever they think is necessary, we’ll work with them on that,” said Northam.

The governor plans to provide detailed guidance on reopening phases and restrictions on Friday, May 8. On Wednesday, he gave an update on how Virginia is doing on his metrics for the first reopening phase. He said the state is seeing a steady or downward trend of the percentage of positive tests among total completed tests. Hospitalizations are steady, and the personal protective equipment outlook is promising.

“In the last few days, no hospitals have reported having difficulty getting PPE,” said Northam.

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The metric for increased testing and contact tracing is a work in progress, as a recent study named Virginia as one of the lowest ranked for testing per capita. Northam is aiming for a 10,000-per-day testing goal to reopen the economy. The highest daily testing total was on May 1, when the Virginia Department of Health reported 6,693 individual people were tested.

The state will bolster hiring of contact tracers by over 1,000 in efforts to track cases. According to Dr. Norm Oliver, state health commissioner, Virginia has several hundred contact tracers on staff. Oliver says the state is following expert recommendations to have 15 to 30 contact tracers per 100,000 people. On increases beyond that, Oliver said “We are prepared to ramp up as needed.”

On Wednesday, Northam asked President Trump to extend Title 32 status to allow federal reimbursement for Virginia National Guard response to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The Title 32 status is currently active through the end of May. Carlos Hopkins, Virginia’s secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, said Virginia National Guard response to COVID-19 would continue normally regardless of the title 32 status extension.

Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams, the adjutant general of Virginia, provided an update on how the Virginia National Guard helped since activated with Northam’s March 12 state of emergency. He said the top priority is assisting with sample collection for testing and mask fitting at long-term care facilities and correctional facilities. Personnel have collected specimen samples for over 27,000 people and fitted nearly 450 masks for long-term care facility staff. They’ve also assisted with delivery of samples.

They’ve helped with testing in northern and central Virginia this week and will do the same Friday and Saturday on the Eastern Shore, where outbreaks have impacted two poultry processing plants. The Centers for Disease Control and state officials responded to the plants to provide guidance, and large-scale testing of workers has been completed. Test results for workers are expected in the coming days, while the state is involved in community-wide testing. Oliver said there is concern with community spread on the Eastern Shore, as the two plants together employ about 300 workers. The plants have taken measures such as providing hotel space for self-quarantine, installing plexiglass shields and giving masks to workers.

Other Virginia National Guard activities have included preparing food boxes for food banks as well as food distribution and supply deliveries in the Fredericksburg and Roanoke areas. Members gave assisted with distributing over 200,000 N95 respirator masks, 150,000 surgical masks, 69,000 pairs of gloves and over 700 hand sanitizers.

“I am extremely proud of the great work from our personnel supporting Virginia’s COVID response, and I know we are putting their skills, experience and knowledge to good work,” said Williams. “We will continue to work with localities and our state agency partners supporting all efforts to move Virginia forward.”

An equity working group has coordinated donations of supplies for high-risk communities in Virginia. About 15,000 masks and hundreds of hand sanitizers are being distributed in kits to neighborhoods with high-risk populations in Richmond and Harrisonburg.

Northam did not address the presence of protesters in Richmond Wednesday pushing for restrictions to be lifted. He instead recognized workers and their roles, particularly nurses for National Nurses Day on Wednesday and educators for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Updated coronavirus case data was not provided at the governor’s news conference due to a technical issue on the Virginia Department of Health website. New numbers are expected later Wednesday.

Virginia’s first coronavirus case was confirmed on March 7, leading to the closure of certain non-essential businesses and ban of gatherings over 10 people on March 23 and stay-at-home order on March 30. Elective surgeries and non-emergency dental procedures were allowed to resume on May 1. The first of three reopening phases is tentatively planned for May 15 with safety measures for businesses.

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