RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY/WRIC) — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam held a coronavirus press conference with other Virginia officials on Monday as as Virginia reported 542 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its total of confirmed cases statewide to 13,036.
Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he’ll consider reopening the state’s economy regionally as neighboring states like Tennessee begin lifting their business restrictions.
It’s one of several things the governor said he planned to discuss with his newly appointed COVID19 Business Task Force, which had its second meeting Monday afternoon.
“Is it really fair for Tennessee’s businesses to be open and Virginias not to be?…Is being able to open certain regions of Virginia possible?…I’m open minded to all of that and I would say stay tuned,” Northam said.
The governor said the task force is also continuing to work through the details of how and when to ease restrictions in a way that makes customers feel safe.
Increase in testing
Meanwhile, a separate work group continues to make progress on increasing testing. Northam said the state’s testing capacity has increased by 41 percent since last week. That said, the 4,000 daily tests currently being completed in the Commonwealth is still less than half of the administration’s target of 10,000 tests daily.
Northam said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending 14,000 testing swabs on Monday, only a portion of the 100,000 swabs the state has requested.
“We’ll get to the point where we have adequate testing but it’s not adequate anywhere in Virginia, it’s not adequate anywhere in the country right now. I think if you talked to other governors, you’d hear the same challenges,” Northam said.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, more than 80,000 people have been tested for the virus in Virginia so far.
Long-term care facilities and prisons have been a priority for testing and now, public housing complexes are on that list too.
“That’s part of a pilot project we’re doing with local health departments to ensure that people who are vulnerable, such as economically disadvantaged populations, are able to access tests,” Northam said.
Northam said the state is getting more PPE by the day. The shipment that arrived on Monday included 800,000 gloves, 300,000 face masks and 40,000 isolation gowns.
Additionally, Northam said the state has received a $2 million grant to support behavioral treatment, telemedicine and recovery services. He said this grant will support those who were already getting behavioral health treatment for mental illness or substance abuse. The grant will also support healthcare employees who are working under extreme stress right now. The money will go to 40 Community Service Boards across the state.
“The behavioral health treatment provided by our CSBs is critical as we battle the mental health impacts of this pandemic,” Northam said.
Outbreaks in meat processing plants on Eastern Shore, Shenandoah Valley
Northam addressed the rising COVID-19 numbers of COVID-19 in Virginia’s 12 poultry plants, mainly in the Shenandoah Valley and on the Eastern Shore, Northam’s home. Virginia also has 120 federally inspected meat plants, Northam said.
Accomack County on the Eastern Shore has seen the 4th highest number of cases per capita in the state, with many of the cases linked to its largest employers, Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods, where about 3,000 people work.
“While the companies here in Virginia are taking additional safety measures inside their facilities to protect their workers and keep their plants operational, I am very concerned about the continued rise in cases, I grew up on the Eastern Shore and I know it very well. It is a rural area with excellent access to health care, but I know how quickly our medical resources there could be overwhelmed with a surge in cases,” Northam said.
Northam says workers in poultry plants are particularly vulnerable and many do not speak English as a first language, and close quarters of workers’ housing make isolation and quarantine more difficult.
“These poultry plants are a vital part of our food supply chain, providing food to millions of people on the East Coast, but the health of the people who work in these plants is also critically important.”
He says fellow governors on the poultry-driven Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) have asked for federal assistance via the CDC to help coordinate an approach to tackle the situation, and a team was scheduled to be in Virginia on Monday. The teams include epidemiologists and contact tracers, as well as language specialists that speak Creole, the language spoken by many workers at Delmarva plants.
Local health departments have also been on the ground working with the facilities to track cases, increase safety procedures and recommend mitigation measures, Northam says.
“We will ensure that workers are screened, provided care if they are sick, and measures are taken to protect other workers not showing symptoms.”
Poultry workers, labor rights representatives and Eastern Shore community organizers held a protest car rally outside of the Perdue chicken plant in Accomac on Monday afternoon, in an effort to highlight what they say are insufficient protections at poultry plants, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
