Gov. Ralph Northam today announced that localities in Hampton Roads will join the rest of the Commonwealth in Phase Three of the “Forward Virginia” plan to ease public health restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The region’s targeted COVID-19 restrictions went into effect nearly six weeks ago on July 31 and included a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people, a reduction in indoor dining to 50 percent capacity, and a requirement that restaurants close at midnight and stop the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m.
The impacted localities include cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Williamsburg, Newport News, Poquoson, James City County and York County.
As of Sept. 9, the percent positivity rate for PCR tests in the Eastern Region is 6.7 percent and has been decreasing for 12 days. The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Region has been decreasing for 46 days.
Hospitalizations, including COVID-19 intensive care unit hospitalizations, have been declining for approximately three weeks, and the current rate of emergency room admissions is steadily decreasing.
The full text of amended Executive Order Sixty-Seven and Order of Public Health Emergency Seven is available here.
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