Virginia governor Ralph Northam hosted a press conference on Monday, March 22 to address the landscape of the coronavirus in Virginia. Ultimately, Northam ordered all schools to be closed through the end of the current (2019-2020) academic year.

Additionally, he announced the signing of Executive Order 53, which ordered the closing of recreational services, like gyms and movie theaters, in addition to restricting restaurants to carry-out and delivery services only. Northam also recognized that the spread of coronavirus would be inevitable, and that the nature of the virus make it difficult to contain. 

“These numbers will, unfortunately, continue to rise. We are in this for months, not weeks,” Northam said. “Unfortunately, the virus does not respect national borders or state borders. That is what happens when a global pandemic hits a nation. With this pandemic, states have been left to figure out this on their own, and I am acting to protect Virginians.”

The full press conference can be watched below.