Northam To Allow Elective Surgeries, Dental Procedures In May

VIRGINIA — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will allow his ban on elective surgeries at hospitals to expire after April 30 as the state avoided a hospital resource surge from the new coronavirus crisis. In addition to allowing elective surgeries, Northam said Friday non-emergency dental procedures can resume in May.

The March 25 order from Northam and Dr. Norm Oliver, the state health commissioner, aimed to preserve personal protective equipment for front-line workers in case Virginia saw a surge similar to New York City. The order did not apply to emergencies, procedures in which a delay would harm a patient, or outpatient visits in hospital-based clinics.

"Our efforts to slow the spread of this virus are showing success," said Northam. "Our hospitals have not been overwhelmed. We have been able to get more PPE and developed ways to decontaminate masks and gowns. Hospitals have ramped up testing with a much quicker turnaround time. Early on ... test results were taking more than a week, and now in most cases it takes less than a day."

Mike McDermott, president and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, said the elective surgery ban was the right decision at the time to build capacity in case of a surge. He added that residents following social distancing restrictions has allowed Virginia hospitals to avoid a surge and safely resume elective procedures.

"It is important for all Virginians to know that if you need care please do not hesitate to receive care to improve your health outcome," said McDermott. "The hospital community will work within the federal, state and specialty group framework to guide us as we prepare to move forward with resuming scheduled procedures."

Northam said hospitals and dental facilities have been working for weeks to reopen and are prepared to safely restart non-emergency procedures. The Virginia Dental Association issued guidelines to members Tuesday.

"We all recognize that the longer dental practices remain closed to preventative and non-emergent treatment the more likely that our patients' untreated dental diseases will progress, increasing the complexity and cost for treatment," said Dr. Elizabeth Reynolds, president of the Virginia Dental Association.

Reynolds said Virginia dentists will wear forms of protective equipment and follow interim guidelines from the state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Offices will have new protocols such as mask-wearing during visits, COVID-19 screenings, and minimizing or eliminating patients in reception areas.

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Northam also thanked veterinarians who voluntarily stopped procedures to donate PPE to the front lines of the crisis. In Virginia, veterinarians are allowed to provide any services while following public health best practices.

Other discussions on reopening Virginia are continuing. On Monday, Northam met with his business task force, which is providing guidance on easing individual and business restrictions. Northam has said he'd like to move into the first reopening phase as soon as May 8, but he hasn't committed to an exact date. The discussions include determining if reopening should happen regionally rather than statewide. He previously cited the example of Bristol, which has a sister city with the same name across the border in Tennessee.

Northam's criteria for the first reopening phase would require the percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations to trend down for 14 days, increased testing and contact tracing, sufficient hospital beds and intensive care capacity, and sustained supply of personal protective equipment.

In terms of hospital capacity, Northam believes the criteria has been met, noting that hospitalizations, as well as intensive care unit and ventilator use, "have remained essentially flat."

On the 14-day data, Northam says he is looking at trends rather than simple numbers. He pointed to factors on positive results like increased testing capacity, criteria for who is tested, and the testing turnaround time. However, he noted that Virginia's case numbers have not flattened yet.

The governor's testing goal for reopening the economy calls for a 10,000-per-day testing capacity. Northam said FEMA will send 200,000 additional swabs to Virginia.

As of Wednesday, 85,307 people in Virginia have been tested for the virus, an increase of 2,554 from Tuesday. Dr. Karen Remley, a former state health commissioner who is helping lead Virginia's testing task force, said last week 4,000 daily tests were performed in the previous two days. Remley will provide an update on Virginia's testing strategies and capacity on Friday.

Residents will soon be able to see case data by zip code on the Virginia Department of Health website. Oliver said Wednesday it will take several days for data transformation to show that information.

The governor addressed the rise in cases at two poultry processing plants on Virginia's Eastern Shore. After the governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware wrote a joint letter to the White House with concerns about poultry workers on the Delmarva Peninsula, a CDC team arrived on the Eastern Shore Tuesday. The team is assessing the processing plants and ensuring they operate with CDC guidelines to separate workers from each other. Northam instructed the Virginia Department of Health and Labor to work with federal authorities to ensure the plants meet CDC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines.

"We fully expect that all employees in these food processing plants will be tested, and those who need medical care have adequate access and a safe place to go if they need to be isolated," said Northam.

Northam also announced a new initiative with several other states to work with the major private student loan servicers on protections for borrowers. The federal CARES Act suspended monthly payments, interest, and involuntary collection activity until Sept. 30 for U.S. government-owned loans, but that didn't apply to other loans.

Under the new initiative, borrowers with commercially owned Federal Family Education Loan loans, Perkins loans, or private student loans can seek relief options. These may include a minimum 90 days of forbearance, waived late payment fees, and efforts to enroll borrowers in assistance programs like income-based repayment. Borrowers should check with individual loan servicers for relief options. Northam says the initiative will affect around 200,000 Virginia student loan borrowers.

SEE ALSO:

• VA Coronavirus: Deaths Top 500, Outbreak Grows At Poultry Plants
• Northam Addresses Hospital, Business Reopenings From Coronavirus
• VA Governor Outlines Reopening Criteria, Earliest Possible Date