COVID-19 Update 5

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Dear Friend,

COVID-19 continues to impact our daily lives, I hope those suffering from the virus will have a speedy and safe recovery. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH), as well as the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, continue to provide daily updates on the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Zipcode-level data will soon be available on the VDH website. Here are today's totals:

Governor Northam has provided a blueprint for easing public health restrictions. It is based on CDC recommendations. Phase I of this blueprint depends on:

• a decreasing percentage of positive tests over a 14 day period;

• a decreasing number of hospitalizations over a 14 day period;

• enough ICU and hospital bed capacity; and

• an increasing and sustainable supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).

More details on the blueprint can be found here.

Beginning tomorrow, elective surgeries and routine dental procedures will once again be allowed. These had been limited to conserve hospital space and PPE in anticipation of the increased medical needs of COVID-19 cases. I would also like to thank the veterinary practices that voluntarily limited the services offered at their clinics, as well as those who donated their supplies of PPE, to make sure our hospitals and frontline health workers had PPE to keep them safe.

I am hopeful that as testing becomes more widely available we will very soon see a downward trend in the spread of COVID-19. I am as anxious as you are to return safely to a more open economy and daily life. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to continue to wash their hands frequently, wear a mask in public spaces, and maintain social distancing.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. We are all in this together. Stay safe.

Sincerely,