As a longtime Virginia resident, I urge the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board to adopt the proposed emergency regulations to protect workers in the Commonwealth from COVID-19.  The Board should adopt these regulations to help guarantee the safety and health of the millions of workers in Virginia employed in sectors upon which so many of us rely. 

Those sectors include all aspects of healthcare; nursing homes and long-term care; meat, seafood and poultry processing; dental services; homeless shelters; veterinary services; transportation; all levels of education; child-care; grocery store and foot retail; drug stores/pharmacies; personal care; grooming, salon and spa services; sports and entertainment; packaging processing; and all types of emergency responders, who are on the front lines every day. 

Protecting workers in these critical jobs is important because a disproportionate of the workers are people of color who do not have the option of sheltering in place and thus face great risks of being exposed to COVID-19 and potentially exposing their families and communities to this dangerous, deadly virus.

I also urge the Board to add requirements that employers ensure that all workers have flexibility to use their sick time and that employers who provide housing, including housing for migrant workers, maintain safeguards for those vital workers.