RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is announcing substantial new statewide restrictions on gatherings and certain businesses to help slow rising cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations from the coronavirus. The governor’s office said in a Friday news release that the state’s cap on gatherings will be reduced from 250 to 25. Also, the state’s mask requirement will be applied to younger children, and alcohol sales will be prohibited at dining establishments after 10 p.m. Those and other new restrictions will take effect at midnight Sunday. The changes come as the disease is surging across the U.S. at what experts say is an alarming pace.
