New rules include having Virginians stay at home from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., wear masks in indoor and outdoor settings, limit social gatherings to 10.
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam announced new, targeted measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 as new cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in all areas of the Commonwealth. Executive Order Seventy-Two directs Virginians to stay at home between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., implements a universal mask requirement, and lowers the limit on social gatherings from 25 people to 10 people. The order will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, December 14 and remain in place through January 31, 2021, unless rescinded or amended.
“New daily case numbers are higher than they have been at any previous point in the pandemic, and while the trends in Virginia are better than most of the country, we are taking action now to slow the spread of this virus before our hospitals get overwhelmed,” said Governor Northam. “We already have strong public health measures in place, and with these additional steps, we can turn this around. Virginians, if you don’t have to be out, stay at home. Whenever we are around other people, we all need to wear a mask, indoors and out.”
“These are common-sense things we can all do to take care of each other and stay safe. This is not about getting people in trouble—this is about everyone doing their part and reducing opportunities for people to get sick.”
The following mitigation measures will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, December 14:
- Modified Stay at Home Order: All individuals in Virginia must remain at their place of residence between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Exceptions include obtaining food and goods, traveling to and from work, and seeking medical attention.
- Universal mask requirement: All Virginians aged five and over are required to wear face coverings in indoor settings shared with others and when outdoors within six feet of another person. This order expands the current statewide mask mandate, which has been in place since May 29, and requires all individuals aged five and over to wear face coverings in indoor and outdoor public settings outside of their own household. These changes are consistent with new CDC guidelines, released December 4, which recommend universal wearing of face coverings.
- Reduction in social gatherings: All social gatherings must be limited to 10 individuals, down from the current cap of 25 people. Social gatherings include, but are not limited to, parties, celebrations, or other social events, regardless of whether they occur indoors or outdoors. This does not apply to religious services, employment settings, or educational settings. Restaurants and retail stores are already governed by strict social distancing requirements, and are not included in this limit.
- Continued limits on dining establishments: Virginia restaurants are currently governed by strict social distancing and sanitization requirements, which remain in place. The on-site sale, consumption, and possession of alcohol remains prohibited after 10:00 p.m. in any restaurant, dining establishment, food court, brewery, microbrewery, distillery, winery, or tasting room. All restaurants, dining establishments, food courts, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, and tasting rooms must close by midnight.
- Teleworking: Employees that can telework are strongly encouraged to do so.
While Virginia’s new cases per capita remain lower than 43 other states, all of the Commonwealth’s five health regions are experiencing increases in COVID-19 cases, positive tests, and hospitalizations. Virginia is currently averaging more than 3,700 new COVID-19 cases per day, up from a statewide peak of approximately 1,200 in May. Statewide test positivity rate is at 11 percent, an increase from 7 percent approximately one month ago. More than 2,000 Virginians are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 statewide, an increase of over 80 percent in the last four weeks.
The full text of Executive Order Seventy-Two, which incorporates earlier Executive Orders Sixty-Three Sixty-Seven is available here.
About the Author
Yes, I’d like to tighten a noose on Ralph Northam myself. I’m very tired of these ridiculous restrictions that do not follow science and I’ll tell you why. I’ll buy the idea that a mask is mostly a good thing because person to person, and through our breath, is what “experts say” is the way to catch or transmit covd19. Fine. But the attack on, and closure of such a large % of the space restaurants can use just has to be ridiculous. Groups over 25 banned everywhere. Except at Wal Mart, Ralph Northam’s blackface make up store, and all the places where Bozo Ralph will let 1,000 people in. Just where the hell is the logic and science to that ? Has to be total b.s. and we all know it. Schools continuing to be closed and creating poor mental health in children when this virus is less harmful to them than flu. Teachers are scared. Tough. Go go to work or be fired like the rest of us. Not to mention how that closed school decision is affecting families ability to work, and the child’s ability to learn. Nurses and Drs. are the front line workers, but the rest of use have to deal with this at work too. We are all essential. ALL LIVES MATTER. Leaders like Northam are destroying our families, our economy, and the future for our children. This guy can’t lead a horse to water, but he is making us drink his bile. Many other countries are not closing schools. How will our children be competitive in the future world market by not educating ? Are they being raised to be left behind ? So much for the lauding of Nancy Reagan and her “no child left behind” slogan/mandate. We’ve gone to “ALL children left behind”. Our “leaders” do not know how to lead and they do not know what to do. They are so used to creating boondoggles, and not knowing how to work their way through a swamp, that they are succumbing to it and creating even more boondoggles. Putz. Northam is a feckless putz, leading us all to be left on a table until we are all helpless and succumb. He simply is willing to abort us all. We, all of our lives, are all collateral damage to the likes of him. Stay home and wait for happy hour ? Just wait ’til we start getting the vaccine and he continues to tell us we need to wear a mask after we can no longer catch it, therefore can no longer pass it on. It is 1984. Your calendar is wrong. George Orwell’s thought police have taken over our leader, or he must have had a stroke or something. Gutless Putz. Pure and simple.
MJM, Sounds like you need a “My Governor is an idiot!” bumper sticker, too!
Wayne – you should try to put a pic up of the bumper sticker. I tried to paste one here but did not work. Hope you are well!
Well Peter, my Trump sticker, Hillary for prison sticker, and Daniel Gade sticker haven’t done too much good for me on my ride lately. A reference to Northam doesn’t really fit there anyway. I have another idea. I’d rather have you bring an 18″ diameter picture of Jay C. Ford to Gene’s. We’ll attach the photo to the dart board. We’ll invite Paul, Wayne, Scotiagirl and a few other folks who can have a spirited and pleasant conversation over a dart game. I bet it doesn’t take long to have our way with the cancel culture giant, relieve some covid woes, support Gene’s fine place, and laugh our butts off. I’ll buy 1st round. Labatt Blue anyone ?
And Scotiagirl would like to take aim at an 18″ likeness of Trudeau wearing a Chinese army hat.
Glad the Canadian army still has balls. Scotiagirl’s father didn’t lead them into battle as a Pipe Major for nothing.