I am writing to you with urgency to request your vote in favor of the Emergency Temporary Standard/Emergency Regulation 16 VAC 25-220 by the Safety and Health Codes Board.  

Workers across the Commonwealth need enforceable protections for their own health and the public health at large during this pandemic and beyond. These emergent, common-sense standards are essential to both critical workers and the vibrant business community of Virginia.

Epidemiological data confirms that such workplaces have become (and still have the potential to be) 'hotspots' for pandemic infection.  Workers there are essential providers; we have a societal obligation to decrease their risk of exposure.  That obligation is amplified because many of these workers belong to disparities populations - people who have borne a disproportionate share of the pandemic burden.  

I request that you pass the standards on June 24, 2020, without hesitation, to prevent further damage to the health of workers and the public in response to this emergency within an emergency. 
 

Thank you for your consideration, 

John C. Ring, MD, MPH