Northam To Delay Reopening Northern Virginia

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he is coordinating delaying the reopening of Northern Virginia.

The Virginia governor said at a Monday briefing that though most of Virginia will be able to begin reopening some businesses on Friday, Northern Virginia is “not there yet” and may need to delay reopening after speaking with leaders in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Prince William County.

“They are just as anxious as the rest of us …to ease these restrictions and return to normal,” Northam said, adding, “As soon as they feel comfortable and we feel comfortable moving to Phase I, we’ll do that.”

The governor’s comments come as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced a plan to slowly up metro services, but said that full service will not return until 2021.

The plan is meant to keep passengers safe while social distancing by increasing service through three phases, the DCist reports. Reduced service hours will most likely continue for the rest of the year, and the metro system is asking the federal government and other businesses to work remotely and have flexible schedules in order to meet this phased reopening, the publication reports.

“Metro cannot do this alone,” General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said. “We need the support of the entire region, particularly from the workforce perspective, as we start to come out of this.”