‘We would see a drastic reduction in exposure:’ Richmond health official say widening paid sick leave would limit COVID spread – By Sabrina Moreno (Richmond Times-Dispatch) / January 5 2021
With the 2021 General Assembly session soon approaching, advocates and some health officials are pushing legislators to back the long-debated expansion of paid sick leave to hourly-wage workers, many of whom are deemed essential and can’t afford to stay home without it.
In a livestreamed news conference Tuesday led by a coalition formed to support the policy called Virginians for Paid Sick Days, Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, said doing so would result in “drastic reductions in the exposure and the potential for spread.”
“There are thousands of people who are not getting tested who are not picking up the phone when the health department calls, because for them, it’s literally life and death,” Avula said. “Like ‘Do I not bring home food, income, rent for family? Do I take this call and know that I’m going to have to stay home for 10 days?’”
Currently, the majority of exposures and outbreaks in Richmond and Henrico are happening in essential workplace settings, such as health care, construction, warehouses and restaurants, Avula said. Richmond and Henrico have a total of 259 outbreaks. They also have the second- and third-highest number of outbreaks in the state.
