VA Governor Moves Closer To Reopening Decision, Explains Testing

VIRGINIA — Virginia's hospitals have not been overwhelmed with coronavirus patients over the past two months due primarily to the state's restrictions on social gatherings and residents practicing social distancing, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday at a news conference in Richmond. Details on a reopening timeline for the Commonwealth should come Monday, he added.

Hospitals continue to have adequate numbers of intensive care unit beds and ventilators. The alternative care facilities that Northam proposed more than a month ago did not need to be built.

Virginia's increased testing capability also is helping to contain the spread of the coronavirus by identifying who has the virus. "Our case counts continue to climb, but so does our testing. We have slowed the spread, but we are not out of the woods yet. We must continue to move forward carefully. Testing is key to that," Northam said.

Dr. Karen Remley, a former state health commissioner who is helping lead Virginia's testing task force, explained the steps the state is taking to increase testing for the coronavirus.

"We're encouraging our clinicians across the state to test anybody who's symptomatic, or if a health care provider deems appropriate, to test someone that may be prioritized who's asymptomatic that you could imagine could be a close contact with someone who is or is very high risk that is undergoing a procedure," Remley said.

She also pointed out that the state is working to improve its communications to make it easier for residents to understand the testing process. The state has created a new interactive map where residents can enter their zip code to find the nearest testing site. The number of testing sites is increasing with each day, she said.

Northam said he will provide a clearer picture Monday of when Virginia can start its first phase of reopening, which requires a decrease in the number of positive tests compared to total tests for 14 days.

"One of the points of conversation that we've had with our businesses — and they understand this — is that consumers need to be assured that when they re-enter a business that it's safe. So when I make the decision on when to go into phase one, I can assure Virginians that we're going to do it in a safe manner," the governor said.

Clark Mercer, Northam's chief of staff, noted at the news conference that the state did not force the closure of large groups of non-essential business when the governor issued his executive orders in March. However, the state did require certain businesses where they is a lot of human contact like barber shops, nail salons and tattoo parlors to close down temporarily.

"The governor will have an update on Monday as to how we look to responsibly phase in reopening those," Mercer said.

Under the executive orders, recreational and entertainment businesses like bowling alleys, theaters and gyms also must remain closed through May 8.

Northam contrasted Virginia's approach to how other states handled social distancing from the start of the crisis. "When other states talk about going to their phase one of reopening, look closely at what that means," he said. "You'll find their phase one looks a lot like where Virginia is right now. For example, some states' phase one opens beaches to exercise. We've had that from the start."

Virginia's cases of the new coronavirus increased by 1,055 from Thursday to Friday and 59 more deaths were reported, according to the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health. The latest totals are 16,901 positive cases, 581 deaths and 2,416 hospitalizations.

On Friday, Virginia health officials also reported an increase of 14,805 in the number of coronavirus tests conducted in the state, although Northam said only about 5,800 people had been tested during that 24-hour period.

The reason for the large spike in testing reported Friday — 14,805 — compared to previous days is that the methodology in which testing is reported has changed, officials said.

State Health Commissioner Norm Oliver said that before the change, while a COVID-19 patient may get tested multiple times over the course of treatment, the Virginia Health Department was reporting only one test per patient. Now the state is counting each time the person gets tested for the coronavirus.

"One of the important points that we're looking at is the percentage positive, so you need to know the exact number of tests, not the number of people who had tests," Dr. Dan Carey, secretary of Health and Human Resources, said at the news conference.

On Friday, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association reported 1,431 people with confirmed or pending test results currently hospitalized, compared to 1,550 patients reported on Thursday. According to the association, 2,196 COVID-19 patients have been discharged.

Among Virginia patients with confirmed or pending test results, 366 are in the intensive care unit compared to 372 Thursday. On Friday, 193 COVID-19 patients were using ventilators, down from 208 on Thursday. Overall, 593 of available 2,953 ventilators are in use at hospitals, representing 20 percent use of ventilators in Virginia, down from 21 percent use on Thursday.

Here are the latest updates for localities in our Northern Virginia coverage area, as of Thursday.

• Alexandria: 802 cases, 104 hospitalizations, 24 deaths
• Arlington County: 1,004 cases, 169 hospitalizations, 42 deaths
• Fairfax County: 3,897 cases, 643 hospitalizations, 137 deaths
• Fairfax City: 29 cases, four hospitalizations, two deaths
• Falls Church: 26 cases, three hospitalizations, two deaths
• Loudoun County: 832 cases, 93 hospitalizations, 15 deaths
• Manassas: 222 cases, 29 hospitalizations, two deaths
• Manassas Park: 68 cases, nine hospitalizations, one death
• Prince William County: 1,781 cases, 174 hospitalizations, 28 deaths
• Fredericksburg: 34 cases, seven hospitalizations, no deaths
• Spotsylvania County: 155 cases, 23 hospitalizations, four deaths
• Stafford County: 251 cases, 44 hospitalizations, two deaths

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