Just how long and how profoundly COVID-19 will upend our daily lives may be sinking in more Tuesday in the Washington, D.C., area.
Virginia’s governor announced Monday afternoon that all schools will be closed through the academic year, Maryland ordered all nonessential businesses to close and D.C. said any groups of people will be asked to disperse.
“We’re in this for months, not weeks,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said at a news conference.
D.C.’s mayor and the governors of Maryland and Virginia each urged residents to stay home as much as possible.
“Together, we are promoting social distancing and encouraging all of our residents to stay at home and avoid crowds and gatherings. In each of our jurisdictions, we will be enforcing crowd control measures and social distancing standards,” the leaders said in a joint statement issued Monday night.
The restrictions are designed to slow the spread of the virus. As of Monday afternoon, 679 cases in D.C., Maryland and Virginia were known. D.C. had 137 cases, Maryland had 288 and Virginia had 254. Eleven people with the virus died.
The assistant fire chief for D.C. Fire and EMS and seven firefighters were among those sickened in D.C.
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Internationally, Japan’s prime minister said Tuesday the head of the International Olympic Committee agreed to delay the Tokyo Olympics by up to a year because of the virus.
The DC-Area Coronavirus Outbreak in Pictures
D.C.’s mayor is set to address the public at 11 a.m. Virginia’s governor is expected to speak at 2 p.m. You can watch both news conferences live on NBCWashington.com and in the NBC Washington app.
A little something to lift your spirits as we buckle up for another day of coronavirus news: The owner of a diner in Northern Virginia has responded to the crisis by offering free meals.
“We turned our kitchen into a community kitchen,” said John Wood, the owner of 29 Diner in Fairfax.
