Gov. Northam issues 'stay at home' order for Virginians amid COVID-19 outbreakWHSV 3, Mar 30, 2020
RICHMOND, Va. (WHSV) — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam addressed the commonwealth at 2 p.m. on Monday for his latest briefing on Virginia's response to COVID-19, in which he announced a 'Stay at Home' order for the state.
The governor has been providing regularly scheduled briefings at 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to provide the latest updates.
Virginians now need to 'Stay at Home'In Northam's Monday briefing, he announced that he was immediately implementing a 'Stay at Home' order for Virginia, taking effect from March 30 until June 10, unless it's later amended or rescinded.
The move came after Maryland's governor announced a similar order in the morning. West Virginia and North Carolina each already had similar orders in place before Monday.
The order Northam announced in his press conference is Executive Order 55.
What does a 'Stay at Home' order mean?It, essentially, means that Virginians can only leave home for food, supplies, work, medical care, or exercise/fresh air purposes.
Only leave home if you have an essential reason to do so — Going to visit a friend for a poker game would not be essential. Going to visit a friend to help care for them because they have a broken leg would be essential. Exercise common sense about what is or isn't essential, and if it isn't, then don't go out.
You're still free to leave the house to get groceries or go to the pharmacy. You're also still free to go on a run or go for a hike, so long as you're following social distancing. But if you're not doing something essential and if you're not following social distancing orders, then just don't do it.
“Our message to Virginians is clear: stay home. We know this virus spreads primarily through human-to-human contact, and that’s why it’s so important that people follow this order and practice social distancing," Northam said.
It doesn't mean you have to be barred inside your home and cannot leave at all; but it does mean you should limit leaving homes as much as possible.
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What about non-essential businesses?The language from Gov. Northam's previous executive order, Executive Order 53, remains in place, which allows restaurants and "non-essential" brick-and-mortar retail stores to continue operating, so long as they limit people in any space to 10 and stick to delivery, takeout, and pickup services at restaurants.
Any business that cannot follow the social distancing order of 10 patrons or fewer is required to close, according to Northam.
Text of the Executive Order Below is the full text of Executive Order 55 issued by Gov. Northam on Monday:
More:
https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Gov-Northam-plans-major-announcement-on-Virginias-COVID-19-response-569222141.html
