FALLS CHURCH, Va. - New measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus are now in place in Virginia as COVID-19 numbers spike across the country.
RELATED: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announces new measures to contain COVID-19 in the Commonwealth
Governor Ralph Northam announced the new actions Friday. The plan went into place at midnight on Sunday.
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Return to school debate continues in Fairfax County
FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick reports as the back-to-school debate continues in Fairfax County.
The new course of action calls for reducing the size of gatherings, strengthening COVID-19 enforcement for businesses, following a nightly alcohol curfew and mandating masks for most Virginians.
As these new measures begin in Virginia, Fairfax County Schools are moving forward with their plan to return more students to facilities for in-person learning. School officials say about four percent of students are attending in-person classes at this time with plans for additional Head Start, pre-K, kindergarten and special education students to return on November 17.
School officials say the state currently has one of the lower infection rates compared to other states but is currently seeing COVID-19 cases trend upwards.
Fairfax County School officials also released health-related metrics which are used to decide when new groups of students can begin in-person instruction and when existing in-person instruction may need to be transitioned back to a virtual setting.
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