NEWSLETTER
APRIL 20, 2020
Neighbors in the 42nd District,
On Wednesday, April 22, the General Assembly will be reconvening to consider Governor Northam’s vetoes and amendments to bills that passed during the regular legislative session. There is a chance that we will need to continue our work on Thursday, April 23, and as such, I am moving my Tele-Town Hall that was originally scheduled for that evening.
The new date and time for my Tele-Town Hall will be Thursday, April 30 at 6:30pm. You can join the conversation with the following information: Dial-in (605) 472-5239 | Access Code 811044 | Submit questions here.
Below are updates from Governor Northam, state agencies, and community partners. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Best, Kathy
https://www.kathyfordelegate.com/coronavirus-resources
Updates from Governor Northam and State Agencies
Healthcare Updates
Testing
Governor Northam acknowledged there is still a national shortage in testing supplies, and Virginia continues to compete to purchase the same testing materials, such as reagents and swabs, as other states. However, we are seeing a steady increase in Virginia’s ability to conduct tests on site at our state lab, private labs, and universities. This will allow Virginians to receive their test results faster and enables medical personnel to determine more quickly how to treat these individuals and whether they need to use personal protective equipment.
The Governor announced that the Virginia state lab is currently able to run about 300 tests a day, and by next week, it will be able to run about 400 tests a day due to equipment it just received from Altria.
Governor Northam has created a workgroup to address Virginia’s testing capacity. This workgroup will include the Department of Health, the Department of Emergency Management, long term care facilities, free clinics, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, private laboratories, and medical professionals. The workgroup will focus on three main issues: identify barriers that are limiting our testing abilities; expand testing sites and criteria; and decrease testing backlogs to keep up with demands.
Medical Equipment
We have all seen news reports about ventilator shortages across the country. In Virginia, we have more than 2,900 ventilators and are using less than 25 percent of them. Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Daniel Carey indicates we are currently positioned to meet the need for ventilators during this pandemic.
Secretary Carey indicated that Virginia is working closely with Maryland and Washington, DC to jointly purchase personal protective equipment (PPE). As I have noted in the last few weeks, Virginia recently procured $27 million in PPE, and the first shipment arrived last week containing about 25,000 N95 masks, 50,000 face shields and 50,000 gowns.
Data Reporting
Virginia law limits data that can be shared publicly regarding the spread of disease, such as patient identity, the status of their illness, and name of the facility they are located, such as the name of a nursing home.
Expansion of Healthcare Workforce
As I shared last week, Governor Northam issued Executive Order (EO) 57, which expands the healthcare workforce to meet Virginia’s needs during the pandemic. Today, the Governor clarified that physician assistants should have also been included in the types of medical personnel that have been granted flexibility to practice in their areas of training, and the Administration will be updating EO 57, which is available here.
Insurance Coverage
If you need health insurance, you may qualify for assistance under the Affordable Care Act. For more information, please see www.healthcare.gov. You may also qualify for Medicaid through Virginia. Please see www.coverva.org/ for more information.
Social Distancing and Economy
The Governor indicated that he is following CDC guidelines as to when to loosen social distancing and other restrictions that are in place to protect our public health during the pandemic. One of the first metrics in Phase I is to have 14 consecutive days of decline in positive COVID-19 cases. Virginia has not yet met this threshold, and in fact, we had 453 new cases since yesterday.
Please continue practicing social distancing, enhanced personal hygiene practices, and follow the stay at home order to help us reduce the spread of COVID-19. CDC guidelines are here.
Updates from Community Partners
Cox Communications
To assist families with students who will be distance learning for the rest of the school year, Cox Communications has announced it will be extending its free Connect2Compete service. Eligible families who sign up before May 15 will receive free service until July 15. Learn more here.
For my previous updates about how Virginia is addressing COVID-19 and related resources, see https://www.kathyfordelegate.com/coronavirus-resources.