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"The hardest decision I’ve ever made..." Why One Northern Virginia Official Says More Time is Needed

CDC

Virginia may be on the verge of opening back up for business, at least most of Virginia. The governor is now moving toward a regional approach.

People sometimes call northern Virginia NOVA. And sometimes people in NOVA talk about ROVA, the rest of Virginia, a distinction that’s sometimes cultural, sometimes political. These days it’s a distinction that can be read in case statistics on COVID-19.

That’s why Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Phyllis Randall is urging Governor Ralph Northam to exclude NOVA from the first phase of reopening, at least for now. 

“This may have been the hardest decision I’ve ever made as an elected official," she explains. 

Over the weekend, she joined with leaders from Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria and Prince William to urge the governor to keep northern Virginia out of Phase One reopening. She says all the data points show the region isn’t there yet. 

“I thought it would be quite a bit of hubris for me to, no matter how much I wanted to open and want to open, substitute my desires, my judgment, my thoughts and open,” Randall says.

The governor says he’s considering keeping northern Virginia out of Phase One reopening, and that he’ll announce some kind of formal plan to separate NOVA from ROVA later this week. 

“We feel that we’re at a place where we can safely go into Phase One in most areas of Virginia. Obviously northern Virginia is an exception," Northam explained during a news conference Monday.

For most of Virginia, the first phase of reopening could be as early as this Friday. Northam says he’ll make an announcement about that on Wednesday. He also says he’ll also provide more detail about a potential delay in northern Virginia.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.