To the Fairfax County Community,
I want to start off by wishing a Happy Mother's Day to my mother, my wife, and all of the moms in our community. Many celebrations took place remotely today, but it doesn't change how much we owe the mothers in our lives.
I also want to address Governor Northam's Friday press conference and the question of whether Fairfax County will be reopening with the rest of Virginia. After extensive discussions with my regional colleagues, I sent a joint letter with Loudoun County Chair Randall, Prince William County Chair Wheeler, Arlington County Chair Garvey, and City of Alexandria Mayor Wilson to Governor Northam today.
We greatly appreciate the Governor outlining the strategic criteria he will use as the Commonwealth moves to open; I agree with the Governor that any decision to reopen should be made following the data that he outlined. However, Northern Virginia Health Directors tell me that we don't meet those same health criteria needed to move forward (including a downward trend of positive tests for over 14 days, a downward trend of hospitalizations for over 14 days, an increased capacity for both testing and contact testing, sufficient hospital beds and ICU capacity, and a sustained supply of personal protective equipment). Our letter urges him to implement his Forward Virginia plan for the region only once regional threshold metrics have been met.
Reopening our businesses will be crucial to moving forward and I share our community’s desire to do so, but the health of our residents is crucial to the health of our economy. This information is provided in the letter to the Governor and I hope he will take it into consideration before he makes a final decision later this week.
You can see the County's press release and a copy of the letter here. For details on Phase I of Governor Northam's reopening plan laid out on Friday, please read below.