• Governor Northam addressed the death of George Floyd and the resulting protests all across Virginia, promising to “keep listening” to people of color. 

• Virginia will enter Phase 2 on Friday, June 5.

o The City of Richmond and the Northern Virginia region will remain in Phase One to allow more time for data trends to be monitored. 

FORWARD VIRGINIA PLAN: Phase Two – Begins Friday, June 5 

• We have been in Phase One for close to three weeks, and data trends have not shown any new spikes or surges in cases. 

• Percent positivity continues to trend downward, and is around 10% for the majority of the state.

o This excludes the Northern Virginia region, which is why the area will remain in Phase One for longer. 

• Phase 2 will further ease restrictions, allowing for more businesses and recreational areas to re-open.

o Restaurants can now have both indoor and outdoor seating at 50% capacity. 

o Gyms can re-open with 30% capacity.

 This applies to fitness classes as well. 

o Outdoor entertainment facilities can open with social distancing measures. 

o Recreational sports will be permitted with social distancing measures and no shared equipment. 

o Pools can open for exercise and swim instruction. 

o People can gather in groups of up to 50. 

• More details will be provided on virginia.gov, and at Thursday’s press conference. 

HOSPITALS, PPE AND TESTING 

• Hospitals continue to report no difficulty in acquiring adequate PPE. 

• The number of occupied beds remains well below capacity across the state. 

• Testing capacity continues to increase, while percent positivity decreases. 

COVID-19 CASES, STATISTICS AND MODELING 

• Total cases: 46,293 

• Total deaths: 1,407 

OTHER TOPICS 

• The Department of Social Services will send guidance to childcare providers to help them prepare for greater demand as Virginia enters Phase 2.

o This guidance will focus on health and safety for both childcare providers and children. 

Next briefing: Thursday, June 4 at 2:00PM. 

NOTE: This is an informal and timely summary of the Governor’s live press briefing. To access recordings of the briefings, visit https://www.facebook.com/GovernorVA/. To access the Governor’s official news releases, visit https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/ 

Compiled by Commonwealth Strategy Group for the Virginia Press Association.