Mayor Levar Stoney speaks at a kickoff event Wednesday at Armstrong High School for a pilot program launched by the state to distribute face masks, hand sanitizer and COVID-19 information to underserved Richmonders. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Gov. Ralph Northam has agreed to delay a phased reopening in Richmond until May 28 at the earliest, following an appeal from Mayor Levar Stoney.
Gov. Ralph Northam's plan to reopen the state, set to enter its first phase on Friday, will slowly ease public health restrictions by maintaining a ban on gatherings that exceed 10 people, but allowing restaurants, churches and businesses to operate at 50% occupancy.
In response, Stoney announced Thursday that he has formally requested that Northam postpone the reopening in Richmond due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, particularly among minority groups. As Stoney and Northam highlighted at a supply distribution event earlier this week, 16 of the 18 people in the city who have died from the virus were African American, despite African Americans accounting for less than half of the city’s population.
“A slow and cautious approach to reopening must be taken at this time,” Stoney said. “There’s nothing I’d love more than to snap my fingers right now and see a return to the way things were prior to COVID-19. I join a number of people in this great city who want to move forward, but we want to move forward in a responsible and safe way because we all recognize that we are all in this together.”
Stoney also mentioned new state data that show a two-week increase locally in a metric called "percent positivity," which compares the spread of COVID-19 against the city’s testing capacity. Additionally, Virginia Department of Health data show that the number of COVID-19 cases in Richmond has jumped from 339 to 611 since April 30.
“I cannot justify risking the health and safety of the residents of the great city of Richmond by moving forward with phase one,” he said. “I just cannot do that.”
Later that day, Northam announced that he will keep existing restrictions in place in Richmond and Accomack County "no earlier than midnight" on May 28. The governor also has agreed to delay his plan in 13 Northern Virginia localities.
“As I have said previously, Virginia’s Phase One guidelines represent a floor, not a ceiling,” Northam said in a statement. “I have encouraged local leaders to request exemptions when appropriate, and I am pleased to grant the delays for both Accomack County and the City of Richmond.”
As they look toward a revised reopening date, Stoney and Richmond Health District Director Dr. Danny Avula say they’re committed to continuing free COVID-19 testing throughout the city over the coming weeks and months.
“As we await the state decision, we’re going to reopen in some phased way at some point, [and whenever] that happens, we’re going to see more cases, we’re going to see more hospitalizations, and, unfortunately, we’re probably going to see more people lose their lives,” Avula said prior to the governor's response. “In the meantime... we’ve got to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect the most vulnerable residents of our community from this disease.”
