Gov Northam says state will work with Northern Virginia counties wishing to reopen at a slower pace

RICHMOND, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Northern Virginia and Maryland’s D.C. suburbs cautioned that they aren’t ready to reopen at the pace their states may be moving in by the end of the week.

Within the last two weeks, both Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said they were tentatively eyeing this week for potentially reopening.

At the governor’s request, Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, and Arlington counties sent a letter to Richmond stressing that they will need to reopen more slowly.

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Over the weekend, local leaders in Northern Virginia and

On Monday, Northam unveiled statistics supporting their case.

According to the governor, the trend of percent positive COVID-19 cases is at 25 percent – compared to 10 percent for the rest of the state.

In another example the governor used, densely populated Northern Virginia has seen an uptick of 75 new cases over a 24-hour period, compared to 300 for the rest of the state.

RELATED: Leaders in DC’s Maryland, Virginia suburbs looking to delay local reopening

And neighboring D.C. has yet to see the two weeks of decreasing cases that both Virginia and Maryland are seeing as a whole.

The governor noted that the reopening guidelines the state hopes to implement at the end of the week if trends continue represent “a floor, not a ceiling” and that the state will accommodate regions that don’t feel that they can reopen promptly.

“We will continue to work with those officials on a slower phase one,” the governor said.

RELATED: Northern Virginia health leaders: we’re not ready to reopen

On Friday, Northam says he hopes to begin the gradual process of reopening the state – including opening some “non-essential businesses” on a limited basis.