As of Monday, March 23, Virginia Governor Northam announced all public K-12 schools will remain closed through the end of the school year and many – but not all – non-essential businesses will be required to close their doors.

By the end of Tuesday (11:59 p.m. on March 24) some non-essential services, including all recreation and entertainment services, are to close.

The order covers three categories of businesses:

1. Recreational and entertainment businesses, which must close their doors by midnight on Tuesday.
   
   
2. Non-essential retail stores, which are allowed to remain open so long as they can limit patrons to 10 at most, maintain social distancing of at least six feet, and follow CDC guidelines on sanitation.
   
   
3. Restaurants and food service establishments, which can remain open for carry-out, curbside pickup, or delivery, but not in-house dining.

Contact one of the attorneys in Spilman Thomas & Battle's COVID-19 Task Force to learn more about what constitutes an "essential" business and how this Executive Order affects you.