well good afternoon and happy Friday to all of you and thanks for joining us today today we're going to outline what our phase 1 of ease and restrictions on businesses and gatherings will look like for our fellow Virginians and I just wanted to give you an advanced notice we're going to go over a lot of graphs and charts today and sometimes it's difficult to take all that in on the first time through so just wanted to make sure that all of you know that the the graphs will be available on our Virginia Department of Health website and our charts I will be available on our on our government virginia.
gov website following this presentation so please you're welcome to to look at those later if you don't get everything the first time around so first let's remember where we have been two months ago we were figuring out how to rearrange our lives and our society that keep people safe businesses and many state employees move to teleworking we close schools and banned elective surgeries we put restrictions on non-essential retail moved our restaurants to takeout and delivery and closed entertainment venues hair salons and other personal services back then we had one blunt tool shutting everything down we directed people to stay home because the only way we could slow the spread of this virus was to stay apart it is working our health data shows us that our hospitals have not been overwhelmed and it bought us time to build up our toolbox we have a steady supply of PPE for our health workers and we now believe that this is sustainable we are continuing to ramp up our testing for example this week we'll be testing more than 1500 people in the community on Virginia's Eastern Shore we are preparing to hire roughly 1, 000 attacked racers we have approximately 325 contact racers through the Department of Health right now these additional tools paired with health data metrics are informing our decisions about what restrictions to ease and when we can safely do that I anticipate and hope that phase 1 will start on Friday May the 15th obviously if our trends change we will adjust that date as needed while our tools to fight this virus have changed our commitment has not I want to reassure Virginians we are not opening the floodgates here we're not flipping a light switch from closed to open when the time is right we will turn a dimmer switch up just a notch the reality is that the virus is still in our communities and we need to continue our vigilance and social distancing hand-washing and wearing of face protection when we're out and about our forward Virginia plan has three phases today I'm going to give more details on phase one as you will see this plan will slowly and deliberately ease some of the restrictions but not all we will move forward cautiously with science data and safety as our criteria first I want Virginians to see what health data we're looking at to make these determinations this is our confirmed positive cases by the date they were reported to the Virginia Department of Health you'll see the blue bars represent the number of cases and the yellow line is the seven day moving average while we've seen a slight dip in the past few days largely these numbers are going up and that is what we expect in part because we are testing more people but it's also important to remember that this virus is still out there the next craft shows us how many people are being tested each day in the blue bars the yellow line represents a seven day moving average of how many people we are testing as you can see both the number of tests and the average of tests perform have both largely been trending upward there may be dips where we have tested fewer people on one day but overall this shows that we are doing more testing and we will continue to do more testing in the future the next slide shows us how many of those tests came back positive the dark blue graph is the number of people tested the light blue at the bottom is how many were positive and the yellow line again shows the average I have said that I want a 14 day downward trend in the percent of positivity and that is what we were seeing on this chart again looking at that yellow line see over the last two-plus weeks that has been trending downward and that's a good thing the next slide shows how many hospitals are reporting shortages of PPE the blue bars are the number of hospitals and the yellow line is the seven day moving average this is trending downward which is good news it has been several days since any hospitals reported shortages of PPE and some exciting news today we as you know have ordered a PPE through several distributors but yesterday we had a large shipment of PPE arrived from overseas it was a 747 transport plane that landed at O'Hare Airport in Chicago and we have trucks as we speak today that have been loading that PPE and are bringing it to Virginia so that's something that we're very thankful and excited about this next slide is what we're monitoring our hospital capacity on this chart the darkest blue at the bottom of how many kovat patients are in hospital beds the medium blue is how many other patients are in beds and the light blue is their staffed bed capacity now the yellow line dotted line at the top represents surge capacity as you can see our hospitals are currently reporting that they have capacity and we'll keep an eye on that as elective surgeries continue to resume the next chart shows us how many people who have kovat are hospitalized the total number is the dark blue bar of hospitalizations while the medium blue represents Kovac patients in the ICU and the light blue toward the bottom is Kovac patients who are on ventilators the yellow line is a seven-day average and as you can see that remains essentially flat and that's a good sign this next chart as you can see shows the rate at which our cases are doubling has slowed now to 16 days so those are the data metrics that we are watching now let's talk about phase one in many ways it will look like what we've been doing we will still encourage anyone who can telework to do so the 10 person limit on gatherings will remain we encourage everyone to wear face coverings when they are out and about around other people in the public the stay at home order will become a safer at home order that means that while there are a few more places to go everyone should still only go there as needed and otherwise stay home as much as possible people who are more at risk due to age or health conditions should also still stay at home as much as possible everyone should keep up social distancing staying six feet away from other people outside of their home so here's what phase 1 will mean for the places that you go non-essential retail has been limited to just 10 people inside for two months in Phase one we will slightly increase that to 50% of the establishments capacity restaurants breweries and beverage services have been limited to takeout curbside and delivery that will remain for phase one but if a restaurant or brewery already has a permit for outdoor seating will allow service in that outdoor area at 50% capacity entertainment and public amusement venues will remain closed in phase one gyms and fitness centers have been closed in phase one will allow outdoor classes with limitations beaches are currently open for only exercise and fishing that will remain the case in phase one beaches at our state parks will remain open for exercise and fishing only consistent with our public beaches looking forward we are setting a high bar to ease Beach restrictions it will require a comprehensive and sustainable plan for cleaning social distancing education and enforcement our faith communities play a special role in the lives of their members and in our communities during the past two months our places of worship have had a 10-person limit with drive-in services allowed and encouraged in phase one drive-in services may continue and services may be held inside at 50% capacity personal grooming services have been closed they may open in phase one if they can adhere to strict social distancing with face mass required and appointments require so the good news today is if all this goes into effect a week from today we can all get our hair cut by our barber or our hair stylist private campgrounds have been closed in phase one they may open with restrictions on distance between campsites state parks have been open for day use only in phase one we'll slowly open for tent camping RVs and then cabins and that won't happen immediately I also want to remind Virginians that the 10-person limit continues to apply in state parks some childcare centers have been open prioritizing children of working families that will continue in phase one overnight summer camps will remain closed in phase one and again the 10-person limit on gatherings will remain and we strongly encourage teleworking for those able to do so and wearing face coverings in public to protect ourselves and especially others here you can see all of this together I know businesses will have many questions about the details of how this pertains to them and all of the guidelines will be posted on our website virginia.
gov when we enter phase one we expect it will last a minimum of two weeks and it may last longer depending on what the data shows a decision to move into Phase two will be based on health metrics like we are using for Phase one I know some communities may choose to go more slowly particularly in Northern Virginia where they may not feel their communities are ready to go to phase one just yet I have said that phase one restrictions will be a floor not a ceiling and local governments are consult with our administration about stricter regulations I want to emphasize that the business operations list it may open if they meet the requirements if they're not able to meet these restrictions they must remain closed no business is required by the state to be open I remind businesses that are that any reopening and a future economic recovery will be consumer driven I thank businesses for their cooperation and encourage them to take all the necessary measures for Virginians to feel comfortable and safe that means taking precautions to protect everyone including employees now I'd like to speak to our workers across Virginia I understand that many workers that these businesses are eager to get back to work but I also understand that there are workers who are afraid to go back right now because they or their loved ones have underlying health conditions are part of vulnerable populations I want to assure those workers we are going to do everything possible to protect you the restrictions on business operations such as distancing and masks are meant to protect workers as much as customers yesterday I spoke with our congressional delegation and asked them to take steps so that the federal government allows States more flexibility with unemployment benefits I also want to assure virginia's workers that if you feel your workplace is unsafe because it is not following the rules please report that to our Department of Labor and Industry also referred to as Dahle and that they will investigate we're also working to find every path forward for people who cannot return to work because of their own underlying health conditions are those of people that they live with we will have more to say on this before entering phase one I want to reiterate that our next steps are informed by our health data I also want Virginians to continue to be careful and cautious this virus is still with us it has not gone away it has no cure and no vaccination to date and we may be living with it for months or even years our efforts have slowed the spread but they have not cured the disease I don't want people to let their guard down when we move into this phase of easing restrictions it will be even more important for people to behave cautiously especially our most vulnerable populations the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions so please continue to be careful wash your hands cover your face if you sneeze or cough and stay six feet away from other people in public but at the same time we know that there are things we cannot put off medical care is one of those things we put elective surgeries on hold for six weeks but those have been allowed to resume now that we have a study or PPE supply and I want to encourage Virginians to take care of their health if you need to see a doctor or provider please go while we need to be careful of the coronavirus we should not let illnesses or injuries go untreated and as we talk about ramping up testing I also want to remind Virginians that if you are ill or you have kovat symptoms your doctor is able to determine if you need to be tested I'd like to welcome dr.
Clifford Deol president of the Medical Society of Virginia to talk more about the role that our providers are playing dr.
diehl welcome and thank you for most hmm thank you to Governor northern for having me here today and for your commitment to addressing this pandemic also thank you to all of the health care workers who continue to sacrifice and work tirelessly to fight Co vat19 as the president of medical society of Virginia I hear stories every day of the amazing work being done by Virginia's physicians physician assistants nurses and others as we know the next phase of addressing this pandemic is a commitment to increasing the availability and capacity for testing the Medical Society is excited to partner with bdh to work together to assure health care providers across the Commonwealth can access the resources they need to test patients we are lucky enough to have a physician as our governor and as governor of the nose when we empower physicians we empower patients the governor's office and mediates have consistently reached out to Virginia and Virginia's physician community for their expertise during this crisis and the same applies here how can a family doctor in Danville send a test to a lab how can we get more swabs what tests are approved or not approved MSV is conducting a needs assessment of Virginia's physicians and trying to find out all the logistical barriers to move us forward bdh will then take that information and provide answers as well as create educational and training opportunities for providers in the days and weeks ahead just today MSE and dr.
Karen Lee we had a webinar this morning for Virginia's physicians across the Commonwealth – your presentation on testing and getting answers to some of their pressing questions as we continue this important work I want to make clear one key fact for all Virginians your doctor's office and hospitals are safe Virginia's physicians are trained to manage patient's health whether it be PPE sanitation or changes to the waiting room we're listening with guidance to the CDC Virginia Department Health and our own national medical specialty societies patients with underlying and emerging threatening medical conditions need to see a doctor the first rule of medicine is first do no harm and I want Virginia's patients to know that their doctor's office and hospitals are safe and we are working to protect you I again want to thank governor nor them for having me here today moreover I want to thank all the Virginians for their resolve and commitment to one another during this time it's my job to talk mostly about physicians but we all know that nurses teachers grocery clerks mothers fathers and hundreds of others across the Commonwealth are working to manage this unprecedented time together I promise all of you that Virginia's physicians will not let you down and we will continue to work with bdh and the governor help solve this crisis thank you thank you dr.
diehl finally I want to go back to our health data I want Virginians to know we are watching the numbers very very closely we're following CDC guidelines and my top priority is your health every Virginian has played a role in getting us to where we are now and everyone has a role to play when we take a step forward please continue to act with your own health and the health of others in mind we are all in this together what we do affects our neighbors and our community not just ourselves now I'd like to ask our health commissioner dr.
norm Oliver to give a health update and then we'll be glad to take your questions a quick update on the numbers that are posted on the VDH website the total number of cases today now numbers twenty two thousand three hundred and forty two cases that's seven hundred and seventy two new cases in the 24 hour reporting period total deaths are now at 812 which represents 43 new cases in that same time period total tests are at 143 thousand 220 and new tests in that reporting period or 6662 I've been giving you updates which you can also find on the website regarding number of cases and deaths and african-americans and that next community's african-american cases are at 3831 that's about 24% of the cases for which we have that demographic information the deaths for african-americans is at 182 which is about 26 percent of the deaths for which we have that demographic information for Latin X communities the cases are at 5857 that's about 40 percent of the cases for which we have that ethnic ethnic demographic just as an aside I don't know exactly why that number is so high I suspect it has a lot to do with the outbreaks and meat processing plants both on the Eastern Shore and in Central Shenandoah many of those workers are land Knicks origin deaths among that same community stands at 52 which is about 8% of the deaths for which we have ethnic information outbreaks are at stand at 260 more than half of those are in nursing homes and as you've heard previously from this podium we are planning a full-court press and trying to get on top of those outbreaks through deploying National Guard and other resources to stay on top of those outbreaks thank you you'll be glad to take your questions phase one yes who is responsible for that and what does that look like is it is it warning press you know it's the same way that we've been forced the the restrictions prior to phase one Henry and in our executive order we'll give our law enforcement agents in what they've been trying to do and I have spoken to a lot of them it's obviously we're not out here to to give citations we're not out here to punish people but we also have to keep people safe as well so they I think they've been very good about giving people warnings reminding those types of things but they do have the authority to to write citations in the event that people are not obeying our guidelines yes number of cases in the future it's some of the restrictions be reinstated the question is if there's a surge in some of the numbers in our data moving forward could could we bring back or continue some of the restrictions that were in place prior to moving into phase one and the answer that is absolutely yes you know I have said from the beginning that this is a dynamic fluid process it literally changes the data changes by the hour by the day sometime and and we are following that data very very closely but should these numbers go in directions that we're not comfortable with and obviously we'll be able to or need to make adjustments in our restrictions what are the benchmarks if you have set them of you know if it hits X that we will look at re instituting the restrictions and then I know to part of it that for a dr.
Rose if she's somewhere near just when are we going to get to the ten thousand tests per day yes yes I would let dr.
Remley come and answer the second part but you know what we're doing cam and I think the the first part of his question was what what are those metrics that we're following if we need to make changes in our recommendations and and they're the same ones that we've been following all along the five of them and I won't reiterate all of those but if we see that those are trending in in different directions then then we'll obviously make changes but I think that answer to your question there's there's no specific number or no ledge at which will will reverse it's it's really a combination of all the data that we've been following and and that's what we've done to in order to move into phase one we we followed that and I've tried to use it as best we can data and science and a lot of that has been provided by the CDC though those are the guidelines that we've been following yes I think you know when are we gonna get to ten thousand I can't give you an exact day but I would hope by the end of next week we will have we know we have the lab capacity now in terms of laboratories that can do the tests that are done in Virginia we need to continue to work on those other things we talked about making sure patients know where they can go to get a test regardless of where they come from so we're working had calls today with again with drug stores to try and expand testing there we were working very closely with the free clinics the federally qualified health centers and as dr.
Diehl said with the physicians of Virginia who were in primary care and in other practices to make sure we get the right combination of testing supplies PPE and they know where to send those tests and then when those results come back every day there's another new nuance to fix for a different group and so that's what we're doing and you can see if you look at the it's down now we're just slowly but surely moving our way up that curve towards 10, 000 but I would hope my hope is that by the end of next week that'll be a consistent number that we will be able to reach knowing that there will be days weekend days sometimes days when you know just because of the vagaries that you won't have that every single day but you'll also exceed that many days so you know our goal is to make sure that every patient that has symptoms of Cova that wants to be tested has that opportunity to be tested but just as importantly that the clinical community including pharmacists doctors on all other clinicians that might do testing have the right combination of supplies PPE and knowledge about how to test so that we can really maximize that effort thank you good afternoon governor thank you for taking my question the new unemployment numbers came out today showing that the United States for that 14 point 7 percent unemployment my question to you is what is your reaction to that and are Virginians getting the unemployment benefits and help that they need I want to let dr.
Megan Healey or Workforce Development chief can go into a little bit more details Megan thank you thank you so much and so since the beginning of the Cova 19 crisis we've had over a half a million people file for unemployment in Virginia and that is a high number and we've had two different programs for an appointment the usual unemployment program that we've always had and then we have expanded eligibility for independent contractors gig workers and we've had over 70, 000 independent contractors and gig workers move through a pandemic unemployment assistance program so it's very exciting we've also increased the weekly benefits as well as expanded the time that someone can be on benefits and so this week was the first time that released benefits to those kake workers intermittent contractors as well as anyone who didn't qualify for the basic unemployment so I know that number seems very high but many many people are receiving their benefits if they did not receive their benefits we are ramping up staff for to increase our Appeals and our Jude ocation process [Music] and I think the question is about our beaches and and first of all we want people to be able to return to our beaches I think everybody has to realize that that we are dealing with a new normal and so we know that anytime people get together gatherings of more than ten people for example that that's when the the risk of this spread occurs and so so we have been working with our municipalities some of them one in particular Virginia Beach has put out a very comprehensive plan that talks about distancing it talks about education enforcement and cleansing and preparation that goes into making sure that those things are in place at those beaches and so we're working with the localities we're working with those plans but but the bottom line is consumers they need to feel comfortable that when they go back out to the beach whether they grab hold of a handrail or go down the steps are are sitting with others or are up on the boardwalk they need to feel comfortable that they're going to be safe and that they're not going to contract the virus and that's so that's really what we have been working toward we don't have a date in place yet today we're talking about phase 1 and when phase 1 starts and which I intend for that to be on Friday May the 15th beaches will continue to be open for fishing and for X sizing but not for for other activities on the beach and so when we're comfortable that the numbers are continuing to trend down the data that we're following and we're comfortable that that comprehensive plan can be in place then we will allow to ease the restrictions on the beaches yes hello gov'ner going back to the phase 1 restrictions on businesses we've spoken to restaurants and gym owners who were hopeful that they was able to open their doors during this phase one when I'm looking at these restrictions you're allowing a lot of people into retail stores at 50% capacity you're allowing churches to fill every other pew can you speak to why restaurants and gyms are still kept outside and not able to open their doors yeah the question is why the decision on restaurants to continue order out home delivery and and now to expand and be able to serve outdoors with 50% capacity restrictions we have had a tremendous amount of discussion with our restaurant owners a lot of their input we have listened to and taken into account and and collectively we have made that decision and so rather than relitigate that here that's the decision that we make that's what we feel is in the best interest of Virginians that's what will keep them as safe as possible and also keep the employees of those restaurants safe as well so as I said earlier this is phase 1 we anticipate phase 1 lasting for two maybe more weeks but if we can continue to see these data the numbers trend downward more in a in a positive direction then hopefully after two two weeks we'll be able to go into Phase two and and then that would allow individuals to come into restaurants dine in again probably with a 50% capacity tablespace type 4 at 6 feet but for phase 1 we're allowing outside dining only yes explain more about why you're relying on the percent positivity rate and that 14-day decline is as opposed to other metrics like a 14 day decline in total cases and deaths I mean I've heard from experts that that rate is largely dependent on the number of people tested and there's also more often used to you know compare outbreaks or assess who's being tested so I don't quite understand why that's become the metric to watch yeah that's a great question Kayden why are we relying on one piece of data more than others and I don't think it's fair to say that we are but what we are relying are the are the CDC guidelines and it is explicit in the CDC guidelines that that we are looking for 14 days percent positive cases to trend down and and so that doesn't mean we're ignoring other models other sets of data but that's certainly one that we've been able to file a day to day and as you can see I've put other slides up on the up on the screen as well and we're watching that but but as far as moving forward with the criteria that the CDC put in place that's one of them PPE ability to test those are the things that they have outlined and that's what we have been following and that's what we've been using to make our decision when we can move to phase one yes governor thanks for taking my call people with traumatic brain and spinal injuries and with mental health issues and other problems who are in long-term care facilities benefit greatly from visits by family members is there any way allow them to perhaps go home to stay with family members without losing their beds until regular visitation just once again in place and I have a second question very quickly do you have any statistics on the number of people who died from coded 19 who were helping prior to their illness with no underlying conditions okay I'm gonna let doctor for line oven at least take number one and I was if she's come up with number two as well thanks hi I think I understand the first question to be regarding residents of long-term care facilities and their family members wanting to visit them and if we were seeing any easing of those visitation restrictions if that's the question I think at this time those visitation restrictions are although we understand that's very difficult for a family we do think it's important for the safety and well-being of the people and the staff that are in those facilities so those restrictions remain in place at this time you could I can't recall the second question right so the number of do we have information on of the cases reported what proportion of them were in people without underlying health conditions I'd have to look into that I don't know if we're going to have the data that's available to make that determination because we wouldn't always know from a case report for example if an individual had diabetes or high blood pressure but I can look into that with the surveillance team I think it is it's fair to say that you know obviously individuals with pre-existing medical conditions whether it be problems with their lungs such as asthma or COPD or our heart conditions are at increased risk and have poor outcomes if they contract Kove at 19 and those that were otherwise healthy another point that I want to make because this is something that I thought about when we had the outbreaks in the nursing homes and long-term care facilities and I think that the the question or ask those that that had traumatic brain injuries or other types of mental illnesses would they be better going home with their families where they had more contact with their families and and the point that I think we need to make from a medical perspective is that a lot of these individuals are in a nursing home because they require the 24-hour care that it just can't be given at home and so so while it sounds good to say well let's move this patient from the nursing home for example to a home that's not always possible so when that has been possible we have certainly tried to do that but in a lot of cases it's not possible without breaks and I know that we heard from secretary Kerry on this last time but there is a bill that is in circulation to change Virginia code to allow that information to be released and some talk of a special session so wanting to hear sure why not are you going to support are you gonna support that Jackie the it's a great question the question is is that there's a bill on the table if you will from our legislators that we could be introduced during special session that that will change the code to allow nursing homes long-term care facilities to release more information and not to give a long-winded or complicated answer but a lot of these pieces of legislation I'm asked about that often do I support it and it's not always as straightforward as you might imagine so so a piece of legislation will come through the let's say the the Senate it will be vetted through the committee and then on the floor of the Senate and then it will go to the house and go through the same process so what what starts as one piece of legislation may look totally different by the time it gets through that vetting process and gets to my desk and and so it's difficult for me to say that oh yeah that's something that that I would definitely sign if it gets my desk but I will say that I support transparency and I think if there are ways that we can all work together work with the Virginia Department of Health work with our nursing homes and you know and ask those questions how can we get more transparency how can we let the public how we can we let loved ones know you know what's going on within these nursing homes and long-term care fort that if that's a long-winded answer to your question so so yes I'm open to that but the the proof is in the pudding as I say so let's talk about it let's bet it and and also realize that these things are in the code for the reason someone put that in the code and and I suspect a lot of it had to do with privacy issues in this case so so how can we you know move for with more transparency yet protect people's privacy that's that's the process but I if that bill if that's something that we can work on during special session I'm very open to that governor you said repeatedly that in order to move forward with phase one that the number of hospitalizations have to go down for a period of 14 days but the BJP's he measures report that positive or pending code nineteen hospitalizations are at their peak since April 14th have you changed your mind about that or how are you facing the question is hospitalizations are they going up down and and I think it's important to go back and look at the trends and so if we look at our hospitalizations especially with Kovac patients and especially Kovac patients who are in the ICU and need to be on a ventilator that has remained flat there may be days when there are a few more hospitalizations or days when it goes down a lot of the increase in hospitalizations is do remember a week or so ago we we lifted restrictions on on elective surgery so they're going to be more hospitalizations for that so so mainly looking at Kovac 19 patients ICU bibs and ventilators and that has remained flat over the last few weeks from cd8 says that number of patients who were hospitalized to the positive or pending coded 19 tests were at an all-time high yesterday it's in that way I guess right under again and and your question was they were at an all-time high yesterday but again let's look at the trends and that's that's what we're following yes sir I've never really favored these restrictions let's say we move forward and being start to open and people get a sense of getting back to their normal lives yes but then we get some spikes and they have to go back and you have to shut this date down there are those out there who say we're never going back once I get a chance to get started again we're suing my life there's no way they're going to go back this could be very traumatic yes and we know and the question is it will be very difficult once we ease restrictions to go back to those restrictions and and I'm sorry yes and I you know I certainly agree with you but what's important to know is that we are following trends and our trends are headed in a good direction so that's number one the other thing that I think is important for people to realize this is not like we're flipping a switch and saying it's time for everybody to go back to their lives as they knew them before covert 19and and we tried to use that analogy and I think it's a fairly good analogy rather than flipping a switch we're taking a dimmer switch and we're just turning up the intensity as we can and as the numbers will allow and so that's what we're doing and and that the reason we're doing that because it to your point it will be difficult to go back to more restrictions and especially for our businesses I mean when we you know had this but we have this business task force and what I've heard from a lot of them is please please please take this slowly because if you allow us to reopen and go back to close to where we were before and we have to reverse the direction we at risk of going out of business and never recovering and so that's why we're trying to do this by using the data and doing it as slowly as we can but also with the hope that when it's safe and that's what it's about it's about patients are not patients but people's health and well-being and if as soon as we can do that safely we want people we want businesses to reopen to get back to our lives as we knew them prior to covert 19 Thank You mr.
governor you know congressman congressman Keating is proposing tying future federal aid to state and local governments on to reinstating utility services including delinquent customers and we all know ground zero for that request is Petersburg in there running battle over the re-establishing the connections for the delinquent customers here now while the FCC regulates investor-owned the water utilities such as the king american water and hope well they handle in this favor the municipality owned water utilities such as here in Petersburg and in Danville my question is if the McEachern caveat does get attached to the to the legislation my question is what is your reaction to that and do you think such a copy act would mean that the state would have to actually have to get more involved into a localities business the question is about utilities being disconnected discontinued from people's homes and I think all of you are if you haven't need to see what happened in in Petersburg when utilities at particular water was cut off from individuals and so without getting into the details of how we keep that from happening it shouldn't happen them that that's the bottom line we're in the middle of a pandemic we're asking people to use good hygiene to wash their hands frequently I mean how can you do that if you don't have running water in your house so so we as a society whether it be Congress or the General Assembly but we shouldn't allow that we should find that and I do it's unacceptable and we have intervened on behalf of these individuals but that should never happen to Virginians it should never happen to Americans and so we need to work together to make sure that it doesn't happen again it's totally unacceptable no I appreciate the question the question is we have put this floor of restrictions as we move into phase one and yes we have had daily and sometimes more times than one in a day communication and my chief of staff Clark Mercer has been part of those conversations as well so I'm gonna let him kind of review our discussions and and where we are moving forward Clark Thank You governor and the question was about different areas of the state approach in phase one differently I want to be clear what that means and what that does not mean the governor has articulated a set of rules and regulations that everyone from Abington Alexandria will have to abide by to enter phase one the question is when all areas of the Commonwealth enter phase one and we have heard from Northern Virginia the Northern Virginia Regional Commission which is a collection of governments the counties of towns in the cities in Northern Virginia we were on the phone earlier with the three largest counties in Northern Virginia Prince William Loudoun in Fairfax discussing whether they feel that Northern Virginia has met the six criteria that the governor went over as well as the rest of Virginia has and when we look at Northern Virginia as a region while they are looking good with those metrics they are not looking as good at this point in time as the rest of Virginia and we acknowledge that and what we asked those regions and I suspect those elected officials and managers are watching this press conference to review what phase 1 is and what it is not it's a very measured approach that I think is responsible into the earlier question we want there to be a phase 2 and a phase 3 in order for there to be a phase 2 and a phase 3 you have to show progress in between each phase so it's a very measured approach but if those entities as a region say hey you know we would like to delay entering phase one by two weeks for example which would be made 29th I think the governor would be open to doing that we also the governor spoke with Mayor Bowser and governor Hogan and I'm in touch with their offices as well and we've been in touch with the Chiefs of staff's and governors in Tennessee in Kentucky in West Virginia in North Carolina and Delaware as well trying to get a bead on what all these states are doing but if Northern Virginia as a region wants to take this a little slower they can however I do not think the governor would support and we're not encouraging one County to play by one set of rules so allow 50% of inside dining and the County next to it only allow outdoor dining and the county next to that only allowed takeout that is not what we're talking about we're talking about when a region specifically Northern Virginia's enters phase one I believe the governor will be open to having that discussion over the weekend and would have an update for you early next week but we did ask for those jurisdictions to take a look at what phase 1 is because it's a as the governor articulated a very measured walk into reopening thank you we hear from every region and every jurisdiction just about every business owner in the Commonwealth on a daily basis hundreds of calls and emails you know some jurisdictions have different take on kovat than others but as a region and speaking with one voice I would say Northern Virginia has more or less coalesced in terms of wanting to move together as a region and and it's important that if a region decides to do that that they do that right it's you don't want Fairfax City to do one thing and the county that surrounds it Fairfax are doing another thing so it's important that they act as a region Richmond has a number of diverse counties surrounding it and usually they have a number of diverse opinions about how they should move forward on an issue in terms of regions we've heard from from Northern Virginia thank you well in closing I just wanted to offer a couple thank-yous first to you all in Virginia to for filing our guidelines for putting us where we are today for helping to bend that curve to help our hospital capacity where to be where it needs to be as I've said every time I've been in front of you I know this has been difficult and a lot of you have made tremendous sacrifices and so on behalf of Virginia I say thank you we are in this together and and we'll get through this together I also want to thank our staff especially the Secretary of Commerce and and his workers they have just as you might imagine put a tremendous amount of work into this there's been a tremendous amount of communication as Clark just said yes we do hear from a lot of different people on a on a daily basis so so I appreciate their work but I also appreciate the businesses for your understanding I know they're as a business owner there is nothing more than you wanted to get back to where you were prior to cope at 19 and so the input that we have received through the task group has just been been tremendous and and so I I thank you for all that you've done and and to finally to Virginians and who I would call the consumers those of you that want to get back into the business that that want to go back into the barbershop or they are the hardware store or wherever start thinking about and maybe you already have what's going to take what what what worries you how do you need to be reassured what will make you comfortable going back into that place of business that's that's what we need to hear as as we work through these guidelines as we work through turning that dimmer switch up just as much as we can every day every week so so if you will that's your homework for the weekend I hope that all of you have a a safe and peaceful weekend and we will look forward to being with you on Monday thank you all very much you.
