LEAD NEWS: Governor's Update
Today during his press conference, Governor Northam announced that everyone in the Commonwealth will need to wear a face covering inside any public building starting this Friday, May 29. There are some exceptions to the directive, including:
- While eating or drinking at a restaurant,
- While exercising,
- For those with a health condition that keeps them from wearing a face covering, and
- For children under 10.
The Governor stressed that this directive will not be enforced by law enforcement, but appealed to all Virginians to follow the advice.
The Governor gave no indication of when the Commonwealth may move into Phase 2. The earliest possible date would have been later this week; however, Governor Northam has not signaled that there will be any movement beyond Phase 1 this week. See below for an update on NoVa moving to Phase 1.
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Local Update - Northern Virginia
Localities in Northern Virginia made a request yesterday to the Governor that Northern Virginia be able to enter Phase 1 of reopening this week - on May 28 at midnight. The letter was signed by the mayors and chairs of the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William; the Cities of Alexandria and Fairfax; and the Towns of Dumfries, Herndon, Middleburg, and Vienna.
VRLTA worked closely with the Northern Virginia Chambers of Commerce to facilitate this request.
See the letter here.
In addition, as noted last week, VRLTA and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce sent a joint letter to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay requesting that the Northern Virginia localities request from Governor Northam the ability to enter Phase Two with the rest of the Commonwealth. This request was officially made in the letter yesterday.
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Local Update - Last Chance for RVA-area Businesses to Get a FREE PPE Kit
ForwardRVA is a coalition of the Richmond Region's business, community, and governmental leaders who are working together to create an innovative reopening and planning framework. VRLTA is a ForwardRVA partner. The website,
www.forwardrva.com
, will offer up-to-date information on Virginia's timing and strategy for getting back to business, reopening resources, and more. The website has good general
reopening checklist here.
Also, ForwardRVA is offering a starter PPE kit to small businesses (those with less than 25 employees) - including masks, gloves, hand santizer, signage (including VRLTA's Restaurant Promise poster - see below), and safety information. It's an $80 value, and you can
sign up here TODAY to get it for free!
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Change in Days for Governor's Press Conferences & VRLTA Updates
Reminder: as of this week, the Governor will be hosting press conferences every
Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
This is a change from the recent schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
To coincide with the Governor’s updates, VRLTA will be shifting our email updates to those days. This will allow us to provide you with a timely update related to the Governor’s actions and announcements. Watch for our updates each Tuesday and Thursday.
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Virginia Restaurant Promise - Poster to print!
VRLTA has worked with health departments, localities, and restaurants to develop the Virginia Restaurant Promise, a set of commitments to
employees and customers. We've put together a poster in three sizes that restaurants can print out and post.
Help spread the word!
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Reopening Resources - Updated!
We continue to post resources related to reopening on our website.
Visit this page
for the latest reopening resources, and
this page
for the latest news.
PPE Resources -
- Sysco - currently in stock: masks, gloves in a variety of sizes, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, surface sanitizers, and bleach - contact your sales rep for the latest product availability and pricing; also has a NEW reopening guide here
- PFG - contact your sales rep for the latest product availability
- Safeguard Promotional Products - facemasks and shields, hand sanitizer, gloves, gowns, acrylic shields (for checkout stands) - pricing here, or visit https://www.safeguardjack.com/ or contact Anne Meagher Watson at 804.355.2679 or Anne@SafeguardJack.com
- KO Distilling is producing Bare Knuckle Hand Sanitizer. More information can be found here.
- The Hand Sanitizer Guys have bulk/wholesale hand sanitizer and hand sanitizing stations. Serving the NoVa and DC metro area.
Other Resources -
- National Restaurant Association - Has free reopening guidance available here.
- ServSafe - Has free reopening training available on demand here.
- EMR - Now through June 30, any new service call (existing EMR restaurant customers and new restaurant customers), regardless of their previous labor and travel rate for kitchen equipment service, will receive $99/hr labor, and $99 travel. Also, the company has a maintenance list for closed kitchens here. Visit www.emrco.com/locations for more info.
- Ecolab - Has a variety of cleaning and sanitizing products available (list for hospitality and list for foodservice); Contact Carey Friedman at carey.friedman@ecolab.com or 804.840.3943
- BMS Direct Inc - for printing of restaurant placemats and menus, including washable menus coming soon! VRLTA members get discounted pricing. Visit this link for more information or email leif.aagaard@bmsdirectinc.com for inquiries.
- Push Operations - Push Operations is a labor management solution for restaurants. Push is now offering restaurants its employee health pre-screening software. The software allows contactless temperature checks for employees, customizable pre-health check questions to employees, and effortless communication to employees who’ve worked with a team member that has Covid-19. This service is complimentary for VRLTA members! More information: https://pushoperations.com/covid-19-features/ or Tommy Truong at Tommy@pushoperations.com or 778.858.6325.
- Sestra Systems - Offers touchless beverage dispensing and hand sanitizer stations.
- Open Table - Their Open Door program, starting this month, offers new solutions and reduced or eliminated fees. Learn more here.
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Business Support Grants/Loans
We've compiled a robust listing of opportunities - grants, loans, and other support - available to businesses in localities around the state.
Visit this page
to learn more, and
let us know
if you have additional resources to share.
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Virginia is for Restaurant Lovers Merchandise Supports the VRLTA Relief Fund - Make a purchase to show your support today!
VRLTA has also partnered with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to create a Virginia is for Restaurant Lovers t-shirt, and other merchandise, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Fund.
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