Governor Ralph Northam will let hospitals and dentist offices resume service to patients who need elective procedures starting Friday. Speaking at a press conference earlier today, he said he would not renew his public health order issued in an effort to save personal protective equipment (PPEs) and bed capacity for an anticipated spike in COVID-19 cases.
Acccording to the Virginian-Pilot, Northam said hospitalizations have remained flat, and hospitals have enough personal protective equipment to start seeing patients again. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) COVID-19 dashboard had reported that only one hospital in the state anticipated difficulty replenishing its supplies of PPEs.
The ban had led to thousands of furloughs in the healthcare sector across Virginia, and cost hospitals “well over $200 million, said Michael P. McDermott, VHHA chairman and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare in remarks quoted by the Pilot.
Bacon’s bottom line: While the ban arguably was necessary in the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has been obvious for some time that it was creating needless havoc in Virginia’s healthcare sector. The Governor extended the ban unnecessarily last week, but we can all be grateful that he has decided to let it expire this week. This decision was a no-brainer. Other steps will be more controversial. At least we can move on and start having those conversations.
–JAB
