A group of Virginia residents say it’s time to reopen the state’s shattered economy.
Organizers of the Reopen VA rally will gather at 11 a.m. Wednesday as the General Assembly reconvenes for a veto session.
The House of Delegates will meet on the lawn of the Capitol, while the Senate will meet on the lawn of the Virginia Science Museum, about three miles away.
This protest will be different from the massive peaceful protest residents held in January to protest Gov. Ralph Northam’s push for stricter gun control measures.
Pack capitol
“This protest will be in cars. We’re organizing a driving protest,” said Reopen VA spokesman David Britt.
The protest will be fashioned after similar protests in Michigan, where drivers encircled the state capitol while honking their horns in protest of the state-imposed lockdown that followed the spread of the coronavirus.
Since businesses have been forced to close, residents have filed 410,000 claims for unemployment benefits since March 15. That’s nearly as many as the state filed in the last three years combined.
Protestors say people are going broke, and the risk of mental illness, and the risk of physical abuse for those sheltering in place at home increases daily.
“I would suggest ha everyone now has a good idea of what social distancing is… how to wash their hands…” said Britt. “We’re at a point now where the cure has become worse than the disease.”
Virginia Delegate Mark Cole (R-88, Fredericksburg, Stafford) agrees.
“The numbers show that the death rate for the virus is very low and most people that catch the virus will recover without any serious issues. They should be allowed to get back to work. I fear Governor Northam’s restrictions are pushing many people into poverty, which has worse health consequences than the virus,” Cole told Potomac Local News.
On Monday, the number of new coronavirus cases had dropped for the third straight day in a row. That was a first since the disease was discovered here in early March.
The death toll, now at 300, continues to rise. And that has Delegate Danica Roem (D-13, Prince William County, Manassas Park) concerned. As long as those numbers continue to increase, residents should continue to heed the governor’s stay-at-home order, active until June 10, she said.
“Small business owners are hurting, and there are people who are trying to pay their bills. I completely get it,” said Roem. “Until we see a steady decline in hospitalizations and deaths over a two-week period, if you reopen the state, you’re going to exacerbate the problem.”
Those who are in their 50s continue to be in the leading age group of people in Virginia that have died from the disease.
In the Prince William region, which includes Manassas and Manassas Park, a total of 17 people have died from the disease. There are 793 cases of coronavirus in Prince William County, 96 in Manassas, and 30 in Manassas Park.
To the south, the Rappahannock Health District, which includes Fredericksburg and Stafford County is one of two in the state that has not seen a widespread outbreak of the disease, according to Fredericksburg spokeswoman Sonja Cantu.
There have been six coronavirus-related deaths in the Fredericksburg region. Stafford leads the region with the most cases with 161, Spotsylvania with 77, and Fredericksburg with 17 cases.
The other is Western Piedmont Health District near North Carolina.
