Governor Ralph Northam today announced that sports and entertainment venues in Virginia may begin to operate with expanded capacity and social gathering limits will increase beginning on Saturday, May 15.
The announcement comes as vaccinations continue to rise in the commonwealth, and more than half of all adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement released from Northam’s office Thursday afternoon.
“It’s good news that half of all adults in Virginia have gotten a shot so far,” Northam said in his video. “Vaccination numbers are up, and our COVID-19 case numbers are substantially lower than they were earlier this year. So, we have been able to begin easing some mitigation measures. We took a few more targeted steps this week, and we will do more next month.”
The state will continue to mandate mask-wearing and social distancing, even though some commercial restrictions are will be eased.
Social gatherings
The maximum number of individuals permitted in a social gathering will rise from 50 to 100 people for indoor settings and from 100 to 250 people for outdoor settings.
Entertainment venues
Indoor entertainment and public amusement venues will be able to operate at 50% capacity or 1,000 people, up from 30% capacity or 500 people.
Outdoor venues will be able to operate at 50% capacity — up from 30% — with no specific cap on the number of attendees. There is no specific cap in place on outdoor events currently.
Recreational sporting events
The number of spectators allowed at indoor recreational sporting events will increase from 100 to 250 spectators or 50% capacity, whichever is less.
Outdoor recreational sporting events will increase from 500 to 1,000 people or 50% capacity, whichever is less.
Alcohol sales
Restaurants may return to selling alcohol after midnight, and dining rooms will no longer be required to close between midnight and 5 a.m.
Earlier this week, Northam made minor changes to the existing mitigation measures, including increasing accommodations for cross-country events and school-based fine arts performances, and allowing bar seating in restaurants with strict, 6-feet social distancing.
These changes are reflected in the current Fifth Amended Executive Order Seventy-Two available here.
Virginia has now administered more than 5.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and is currently giving almost 77,000 shots per day, Northam’s statement said.
More than 3.5 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, more than half of all adults in Virginia and more than 40% of the total population, Northam’s statement said.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/3tLKzOK
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment