PW County Executive Chris Martino declares local “State of Emergency”

County Executive Chris Martino signed a Declaration of Local State of Emergency for Prince William County in response to the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control to limit crowds of people to 50 or less to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The declaration is in effect as of noon today, March 16, and will allow the county to mobilize and prioritize resources, handle procurement issues, as well as assign and coordinate response activities to help promote and enforce social distancing.

“We know that it’s critical that we practice social distancing as much as possible in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and help our health system. This declaration will help us mobilize resources to put practices and policies in place to keep our employees and residents healthy,” said Martino.

“It is important to note that this declaration is not because we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of confirmed cases in Prince William County. As of right now, the county remains at three confirmed cases and we have no reason to suspect community spread.”

In order to enforce social distancing as much as possible in the community, Prince William County has taken the following actions in the last 24 hours:
• Closed all libraries.

• Closing the Adult Day Healthcare program as of Tuesday, March 17.

• Canceled the Board of County Supervisors meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 17.

• Canceled the Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.

This is in addition to the action taken last week that closed parks facilities, senior centers and cancelling all outside meetings to be held in county facilities. A full list of the county’s operational status can be found at pwcgov.org/emergency.

Residents are strongly encouraged to practice social distancing in their day to day activities, as well. The county also encourages residents to do business with the county online as much as possible. If they must come to a county facility, residents should call the office they wish to visit before making the trip.

For more information about COVID-19 and Prince William County, go to pwcgov.org/emergency.