After the pandemic caused Governor Ralph Northam to close Virginia’s public schools last spring, he says it’s now time to reopen.
Governor Northam urged school divisions to begin working towards an in-person option during his Friday press conference. He directed them to use guidance from state officials sent out last month, which he said was meant to be a roadmap for a gradual reopening process.
“And today I’m saying it needs to start by March the 15th," he said. By that date, I expect every school division to make in-person learning options available in accordance with the guidance.”
Northam said the decision to reopen the state’s schools is driven by recent data that suggests virus transmission is low in school settings.
And when asked if the directive is mandatory, the governor responded this way:
“I expect the superintendents, the school boards, everybody will come on board with this and get our children back into the classrooms," Northam replied. "These will be options that we will be giving to our schools to do this safely and responsibly.”
Northam said he has also asked school divisions to explore expanding summer instruction offerings so that students who have fallen behind during the pandemic will have an opportunity to catch up.
Another COVID-19 Variant Discovered in Virginia
Virginia continues to report cases linked to COVID-19 variants.
Governor Northam also delivered that news during his Friday press conference.
“Unfortunately, the private lab company LabCorps identified the first case of the South African variant right here in Virginia,” he said.
That case was an individual in eastern Virginia. The state’s Department of Health is investigating that person’s recent travel.
So far, the B.1.351 variant has only been identified in two other states – Maryland and South Carolina.
It and the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom have been linked to increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.
Four such cases of the B.1.1.7 variant have been reported in the Commonwealth so far.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
