Video: Gov. Northam Updates Virginia On the COVID-19 Situation

See below for the latest updates on COVID-19, etc. from Gov. Ralph Northam.

• The briefing is early today because at the usual time, Gov. Northam will be welcoming First Lady Jill Biden to Virginia.
• New cases are now the lowest since before Thanksgiving. Have administered  around 1.7 million doses so far, more than 1.1 million Virginians have received the first dose. Shots down recently due to winter storms, but before that we were averaging around 36k shots per day.
• Last week, the Biden administration announced a bump in vaccine shipments to states. They are now coming in, and we’re working to get them into arms “as fast as we can.” 220 vaccination events this week.
• Almost a half million Virginians have pre-registered; this is great news, the system is working. We have 1.7 million Virginians total now pre-registered. >100k calls to the call center so far.
• More pharmacies coming on this week. CVS started a couple weeks ago. Walgreens starting later this week. Others coming on board as well. Focus will be on high-risk and vulnerable communities. Walmart will not be vaccinating in stores, but will be out at community sites. Vaccines to those 65+, by appointment only.
• Starting next week, we’ll have three vaccines – Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer.
• Restrictions – starting 3/1, will expand alcohol sales at restaurants up to midnight.  Will ease restrictions on outdoor gatherings. See below for more details. By April, hopefully remove 1,000-person cap for outdoor venues. Need to do this slowly and thoughtfully. We have come a long way since a year ago, and we don’t want to risk our progress. It’s a dangerous but very hopeful moment.
• General Assembly wrapping up its final week; has made a lot of progress in a variety of areas – ending the death penalty, getting children back into the classroom, legalizing marijuana, expanding voting access, and “much much more.”
• Any info on people not returning for their second doses? Close to 100% followup anecdotally from some health districts, but no hard data right now.
• We should about 1/2 of the population immunized by April. Testing numbers are down a bit because fewer people are symptomatic, the # of infections is dramatically down, as is the positivity rate.
• Encourages everyone to get outdoors, keep wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing. Excited about vaccine rollout…will really ramp up the next few weeks.