Roanoke County, other leaders react to Virginia's reopening plan

After a push to reopen regionally, Roanoke County leaders said they are disappointed the governor is keeping businesses across the state closed for at least another week and a half.

But health and federal leaders said Northam’s delay could help communities stay healthy in the long run.

“That’s another week for those small businesses to struggle,” Board of Supervisors Chairman David Radford said.

Radford said the

situation in Roanoke County is different than in the hotspots of Virginia. He said he wishes the governor could have given local leaders the authority to ease restrictions on their own time.

“Trust the people, let the people in our region take those conditions and those restrictions and let us use them on our own accord. Let us figure out a way to protect the public,“ Radford said.

Everyone wants to see things reopen, but this statewide approach means the governor is taking the scientific data seriously,

Medical Director Molly O’Dell said.

“You know one way to look at this pandemic is, this pandemic is not over anywhere until it is over everywhere,” O’Dell said.

Science-backed policies and plans are the only way Virginia and the nation will recover from this global health crisis, US Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said during a Zoom conference with the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve got to get the public health piece of this right because we won’t see the economic recovery we want if people are still really lacking confidence in their physical safety,” Kaine said.

So, while a delay is frustrating, Roanoke County leaders are encouraging businesses to have a plan in place for a May 15 reopening.

That May 15 date could be pushed back if Virginia does not see a steady decline of new coronavirus cases.