On February 24, Governor Ralph Northam announced the lifting of some outdoor restrictions on small businesses that were put in place by executive order as health precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the details in this Governor’s Office news release.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) a small business advocacy association with thousands of members in Virginia, reacted publicly to that news. The following comments are from NFIB’s Virginia State Director Nicole Riley:

“We appreciate the Governor made the decision to lift some of the restrictions, especially those for gatherings at outdoor venues with spring approaching. Hopefully it will allow restaurants, those who handle events, and recreational businesses to bring in more revenue. It might just give them the boost they need until the day all restrictions are lifted.

“We do hope to see a change very soon in indoor gathering restrictions and expect the Governor will do that as soon as the number of positive cases continue to go down and the number of vaccinated Virginians are widespread.  It is still extremely difficult for those who don’t have outdoor space, and there are also limits to outdoor dining during inclement weather.

“Many small business owners have been severely impacted for almost a year now, beginning last March when they were closed for weeks, then restrictions were ongoing. It was a financial and emotional rollercoaster and we hope they will land on their feet when this pandemic ends and people are excited to get together at local businesses once again.”

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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.