Elective medical procedures to be allowed

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that non-emergency medical procedures in Virginia will be allowed to resume effective today, include dental and veterinary services.

Social distancing has helped to flatten the curve of growth in COVID-19 virus cases, he said. However, Northam noted, if cases begin to increase following this step, the medical community will be prepared to react accordingly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending Virginia an additional 200,000 virus testing swabs. The goal is to increase testing capacity to 10,000 per day, the governor said.

In dentists’ offices, personnel will be required to wear masks and will screen everyone coming into a facility for COVID-19. Also, dental offices will be required to adjust appointment times to allow for social distancing and sanitizing facilities, along with reducing or eliminating the number of patients sitting in waiting rooms.

CASE UPDATE

As of Thursday morning, the Virginia Department of Health reported 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wise County, with one death and nine hospitalizations.

Two confirmed cases were reported in Norton, with two hospitalizations.

Lee County had nine confirmed cases while there were seven in Scott County. Dickenson County still has no reported cases.

Statewide, 85,307 people had been tested for COVID-19, with 14,961 confirmed cases, 522 deaths and 2,259 hospitalizations. The heaviest concentrations of cases — no surprise — is in the high-population centers of northern Virginia, the Richmond area and the Hampton Roads region.