Biden visits Virginia to tout progress against pandemic, end of restrictions
By Laura Vozzella,
Evelyn Hockstein Reuters
President Biden joined Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam at an indoor rock-climbing facility in Alexandria on Friday to tout progress against the coronavirus pandemic in the state and nationwide.
Northam announced two weeks ago that, due to rising vaccination numbers and falling case counts, he would do away with all limits on business capacity and social distancing on Friday — more than two weeks ahead of the June 15 date he had previously announced.
“Today we mark a tremendous milestone in our fight against covid-19,” the governor said Friday, addressing a crowd of high school students assembled at Sportrock Climbing Center. “As of 12:01 this morning, for the first time since March 2020, there are no limits on capacity or distancing [requirements] in Virginia’s restaurants, businesses, offices or other venues. That’s something we can all be proud of. We are closer to a more normal life than we have been in the past 14 months. And I don’t know about for you, but for me that feels really good.”
[The unseen risk of covid-19 for unvaccinated people]
Northam credited the scientists who created the coronavirus vaccines, and the ordinary Virginians who’ve taken them, for making the easing of the restrictions possible. He said 66 percent of Virginia adults have had at least one dose and 54 percent are fully vaccinated, placing Virginia 14th among all states and first in the South.
“Those are tremendous numbers, and I’m fully confident that Virginia will hit President Biden’s goal of 70 percent of adults getting their first shot by July the 4th,” Northam said. “We can see in real time that the more people get vaccinated, the fewer people get covid. It is very simple math.”
The seven-day average of new daily infections reported in Virginia dropped to 362 on Friday, compared with more than 1,600 a day in April, according to The Washington Post’s tracker.
Evelyn Hockstein
Reuters
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam gestures during a news conference with President Biden on Friday.
Northam credited Biden for the way his administration has handled the production and distribution of vaccines to the states, saying it “makes a big difference when leadership respects science and follows its lead.” Biden, in turn, praised Northam, a pediatric neurologist by training, calling him “one of the best governors in the country” on the basis of his handling of the pandemic.
“Governor, I really mean this, I’m not being political, you’ve done one hell of a job, doc,” Biden said. “You’ve done a hell of a job. It matters. It matters.”
The effusive praise from Biden was a stark change from just over two years ago, when Northam was embroiled in a blackface scandal and Biden joined legions of other Democrats who said he should resign. Since then, Northam has focused on racial reconciliation and has largely recovered his base of support.
Biden opened his remarks with a nod to former U.S. senator John W. Warner, the five-term Republican from Virginia who died Tuesday. The president praised his onetime Senate colleague for his bipartisan bent.
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