Gov. Ralph Northam announced this afternoon at a press conference that the Northern Virginia area can move into phase two starting Friday (June 12).
Northam said that the COVID-19 metrics for Northern Virginia continue to improve.
“Our hospitalizations for COVID are trending downward, particularly in the last week,” Northam said, adding that hospitals are under capacity.
The rest of Virginia entered phase two last Friday (June 5).
So far, there have been 51,738 cases of coronavirus in the Commonwealth of Virginia but an expert at the press conference said this number will jump as labs are backlogged with data.
At the same press conference, Northam also released a plan to reopen public schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Changes will include social distancing measures and adaptations to perform health checks, according to Northam.
Students will not be required to wear face coverings, according to the Virginia superintendent, but they will be encouraged for older students.
Image via Governor of Virginia/Facebook