Governor Ralph Northam continues to be concerned about the rising number of coronavirus cases in Virginia, especially in far Southwest Virginia.
The state's positivity rate has risen to 6.2% compared to under 5% about a month ago. Southwest Virginia's rate is running about 9%.
The Virginia Dept. of Health will be launching a marketing campaign in Southwest Virginia, and elsewhere around the state, to encourage residents to continue to wear face coverings while out in public, wash hands frequently, avoid crowds and maintain social distancing.
As for upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations, Northam is reminding Virginians that the coronavirus spreads through the air -- more easily in indoor settings -- and is encouraging people to wash their hands, wear masks if around people from outside their immediate household, and have smaller gatherings with good ventilation.
The state has contracted with three new labs to help increase testing and speed up results turn around time. One of the new labs is located in Blacksburg.
Virginia averages about 20,000 coronavirus tests daily with an average turn around time for results in one to two days. In addition, 200,000 rapid antigen tests that can give results in as little as 15 minutes are being distributed to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The Governor says VDH already has a plan in place to begin distributing the coronavirus vaccine as soon as its ready and that distribution could begin by the end of the year. However, he cautioned that it would take several months to get millions of Virginians vaccinated.
Northam says that the number of Virginians getting their regular seasonal flu vaccine is up 30% this year.
The Governor says that if Virginians continue to be vigilant and continue to adhere to health guidelines and behaviors, coronavirus cases can be mitigated and the state would not have to revert back to previous business restrictions.
In addition, Northam thanked all of the state's election officials and poll workers, saying that 73% of registered voters turned out for last week's election, with 2.8 million Virginians voting early, either in person or via mail-in or dropped off ballots.
More on this story from our media partner, ABC 13 - WSET.