Coronavirus update: Richmond proclaims June 1 as ‘Day of Mourning and Lament’

Posted: Jun 1, 2020 / 08:08 AM EDT / Updated: Jun 1, 2020 / 12:18 PM EDT

FILE – In this April 16, 2020, file photo, a medical worker places a swab in a vial while testing the homeless for COVID-19 through the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, during the new coronavirus pandemic, in Miami. An Associated Press analysis finds that most states are not meeting the minimum levels of testing suggested by the federal government and recommended by public health researchers even as many of them begin to reopen their shattered economies. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Here’s the latest on the coronavirus pandemic for June 1, 2020:

The Virginia Department of Health reported 45,398 cases of COVID-19 — 43,247 confirmed and 2,151 probable — Monday. The death toll is now at 1,392.

Virginia Hospitals and Healthcare Association reported that 5,899 people with the virus have been released from the hospital. The VDH and VHHA do not report recoveries.

24 people die from COVID-19 in RVA

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is declaring June 1 as a ‘Day of Mourning and Lament’ in the city after COVID-19 claims the lives of 24 Richmonders.

17 of the 24 people who died were black, Stoney said in his proclamation. The mayor also said that given social distancing guidelines many have not had the time or space to mourn and remember those whose lives were taken.

At noon, Stoney asks that all Richmond residents take a moment to pause, reflect, pray, mourn and honor all of those the city has lost.

Take this day to mourn the 24 Richmonders we have lost to COVID-19 and comfort those family members and friends they have left behind. We must use this pain to move forward, targeting the injustices this pandemic has highlighted. #RVAStrong pic.twitter.com/C6juBOTTTE
— Levar M. Stoney (@LevarStoney) June 1, 2020

Protests reducing COVID-19 testing, could be ‘giving the virus another head start’

Protests erupting across the nation over the past week — and law enforcement’s response to them — are threatening to upend efforts by health officials to track and contain the spread of coronavirus just as those efforts were finally getting underway.

Health experts need newly infected people to remember and recount everyone they’ve interacted with over several days in order to alert others who may have been exposed, and prevent them from spreading the disease further. But that process, known as contact tracing, relies on people knowing who they’ve been in contact with — a daunting task if they’ve been to a mass gathering.

Testing site in Richmond canceled

The COVID-19 community testing site scheduled for today has been canceled, the Richmond Health Department said. Anyone with an appointment can attend the testing site on Tuesday, June 2.

If you need to reschedule, you can call (804)-205-3501.