RICHMOND, Va. – On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam rejected a request from Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to mandate that the city’s churches, barber shops and hair salons stay closed when the city begins its gradual reopening Friday.
The governor previously allowed Richmond, northern Virginia and Accomack County on the Eastern Shore to delay reopening with the rest of the state.
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BREAKING: @GovernorVA denied @LevarStoney request for modified phase one. Says Richmond can enter same phase as 138 other localities on Friday and adds businesses and places of worship do not have to open if they aren’t ready. @NBC12 pic.twitter.com/0aZXSYTucf
— Henry Graff (@HenryGraff) May 26, 2020
Northam said in a letter sent Tuesday afternoon that the state’s guidelines for Richmond’s reopening should “operate under the same provisions that will apply to all 138 Virginia localities.”