Restraining Covid and Restraining our Governor

Governor Northam’s announcement yesterday that he would be easing more restrictions on indoor and outdoor capacities for businesses as of May 15 is welcome news to businesses that haven’t already been forced to shut down completely. Unfortunately, this news also underscores the fact that the governor has unilaterally imposed these restrictions for over a year without any say from the legislators representing the Virginia people.

Everyone understands that COVID represents a significant public health challenge. As of this writing, 650,981 cases of COVID have been reported in Virginia. Of those cases, 10,653 Virginians (1.6% of all cases) have died.

At the same time, the governor’s restrictions have resulted in at least 25 percent of all Virginia businesses closing, some of them (hopefully) temporarily, others permanently. The damage to livelihoods, to lives from these shutdowns will be keenly felt for years to come.

This is why the lawsuit advancing through the Virginia courts against Governor Northam by business owners Jon Tigges, Linda Park, and others is so critical. Virginians need to be confident there are adequate restrictions in place to prevent the Governor from unilaterally and indefinitely shutting down the economy. In the midst of a challenge like COVID, we need sensible, reasoned, and proportionate policies that will protect the most vulnerable while keeping people’s livelihoods from being destroyed. Moreover, we need leaders who understand the need for such policies and who will govern accordingly. The physical and fiscal health of
Virginia depends on it.