The Virginia Dept. of Health continues to ramp up coronavirus testing in the state, with more than 5,000 tests conducted each of the past two days as more tests have become available to local doctor's offices, urgent care centers, and free clinics.
Gov. Northam says this increased testing, aimed at finding and isolating those who test positive, is one of the first steps in reopening Virginia's economy.
Northam's executive order closing non-essential businesses expires on May 8, and the governor says new information for businesses will be announced Monday.
The Governor is considering whether to reopen some regions of Virginia before others, but that brings concerns about people traveling between regions and causing new outbreaks in areas that previously had few cases.
Hospitalizations due to coronavirus have stabilized in Virginia and supplies of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks have been boosted by new cleaning and sanitizing systems.
FEMA is sending Virginia three new sanitizing systems that can process 80,000 masks a day. The systems will be located in Blackburg, Richmond and Hampton Roads. The Blacksburg system will also be shared with West Virginia and Tennessee.
"Having a stable supply of PPE is the key to moving forward," Northam said.
The Governor says people abiding by the stay-at-home order and practicing CDC guidelines for social distancing for the past seven weeks has flattened Virginia's curve and has prevented hospitals and ICUs from being overwhelmed.
More than 1,000 new positive cases were reported by the VDH today, which is the highest single day increase yet. Officials say part of the jump can be attributed to the jump in testing.
More on this story from our media partner, ABC 13 - WSET.