A NEW WAVE OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Statewide curfew, stricter mask mandate and smaller gatherings among additions
Gov. Ralph Northam urged all Virginians to stay home from midnight to 5 a.m. unless they need to be out, and he also imposed new pandemic restrictions Thursday as coronavirus infection rates continue to soar across the state.
But even as he asked people to take action to slow the spread, the governor said there is positive news on the horizon: Some Virginians could get a Pfizer vaccine against the virus as soon as this weekend. The first doses will be administered within 24 to 48 hours of federal approval expected as soon as today, Northam said.
“It will be the light (at the end) of a very long and dark tunnel,” he said at a news conference. “My family and I fully intend to get vaccinated, and I hope every Virginian will do the same.”
In the meantime, the governor outlined other new restrictions in an executive order he signed Thursday: Social gatherings will be limited to no more than 10 people — under current rules, people can gather in crowds of up to 25. And the state is expanding its mask mandate, requiring everyone over the age of 5 to wear one anytime they’re outside their home and can’t be at least 6 feet from others.
The new rules go into effect after midnight Monday and will continue through Jan. 31, unless Northam decides to make changes before then.
“We don’t want to extend this, but we may have to,” Northam said. “It all depends on what the virus is doing next month, and that depends on what you do right now.”
Violating some of the restrictions can result in a Class 1 misdemeanor charge, which under state law carries up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
But there will be no enforcement
of the midnight-to-5-a.m. curfew, which is contained in a “modified stay at home order” included in the executive order. Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said in an email that there is “no enforcement mechanism” for the curfew, but that the governor “is confident Virginians will follow this order, as they have done effectively in the past.”
The curfew doesn’t apply to people who are out after midnight for work, school or other specified reasons, including exercising or “taking care of other individuals or animals.”
And Northam said the limits on gatherings don’t affect local school officials’ decisions about whether and how to have students in class in person.
Virginia Republicans have repeatedly criticized the Democratic governor’s handling of the pandemic, and a group issued a statement Thursday afternoon calling the curfew “wholly unnecessary.”
“What is most frustrating about the Governor’s new restrictions is that Virginians have been doing an outstanding job abiding by the current guidelines and mandates,” members of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus wrote in a prepared statement. “A ‘stay-at-home’ order unnecessarily and unfairly penalizes them.”
On Wednesday morning, Virginia reported 4,398 new coronavirus infections, the largest number ever reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic. It puts the total number of cases in the state just past 267,000, a rise of about 20,000 new cases since Friday, when counting confirmed and probable cases.
Public health officials had predicted such a surge would follow the Thanksgiving holiday two weeks ago, during which many Americans ignored advice to stay home and instead traveled to visit family.
The state will continue its ban on alcohol sales at restaurants and bars at 10 p.m. All restaurants must close by midnight.
Northam is also encouraging people to telework when possible. The governor said Thursday most Virginians are “doing the right thing,” but those failing to wear masks in public and follow other simple precautions are “literally being selfish” and making the pandemic worse for everyone.
He said state officials have made more than 200 visits to make sure businesses are compliant with the previous set of restrictions announced less than a month ago. And 90% of those surveyed have been following the rules.
Complaints have been made mostly against brickand-mortar places such as grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants.
So far, state officials have issued more than 180 enforcement letters for violations. At least four restaurants lost their operating permits recently in the Richmond area, Northam said, and “several restaurants” in Hampton Roads lost theirs over the summer when rates soared here. The same happened to a restaurant in Petersburg a few days before Thanksgiving, and its owner was charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Enforcement will be “stepped up” under the new order, the governor said while giving few details.
Northam encouraged people to consider safer ways — including gathering outdoors or online — to celebrate the upcoming holidays and watch children’s sporting events and religious services. “You don’t have to sit in a church pew for God to hear your prayers,” he said.
The new directives were issued two days after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced his own set of tighter restrictions, including a 10 p.m. curfew. Changes there will start at 5 p.m. Friday and remain in effect through Jan. 8.