Governor Northam updates Virginians on COVID-19 – March 21

At the Governor’s COVID-19 19 briefing today (March 21) morning, he shared the following key updates:

1️⃣ Last night, he signed an executive order that gives hospitals and nursing homes more flexibility to add the beds they need without going through red tape. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/2U6cxVQ

2️⃣ The state has revised the testing criteria to give additional priority to first responders and medical professionals who have had contact with COVID-19 patients and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

3️⃣ The Virginia Department of Education – VDOE is preparing Virginia’s application for a waiver from federal testing requirements. And his administration is evaluating the steps they will take to provide relief to students on state-mandated SOL tests, which go beyond those mandated by the federal government.

This is the latest update from March 21, 2020:

VDH is no longer reporting the pending number of tests as testing capacity has expanded to include commercial laboratories. Commercial laboratories report all results to VDH. COVID-19 case data will be updated daily at noon.