- The Washington Times - Thursday, March 12, 2020

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday declared a state of emergency as the state’s presumptive positive coronavirus cases rose to 17.

“We have new cases in Virginia and quite frankly, we are getting mixed messages from the federal government, and we find that unacceptable, so I am taking the lead on this,” the Democratic governor said.

Mr. Northam said it is up to the schools as to whether or not to close, noting that there is room in the academic calendar for closures due to the mild winter.

• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.

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