Governor Northam says whenever a COVID-19 vaccine receives federal approval, any widespread distribution in Virginia will still take months, and it is far too early to let our collective guard down. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:

Northam said while COVID-19 numbers in southwest Virginia remain of great concern, his administration is focusing on mitigating the factors rather than on reimposing tighter restrictions. The concern applies particularly to the far southwest part of the state which has less capacity than other regions to provide the specialized care COVID patients frequently need.