McAuliffe Tells GOP Candidate: 'Don’t Florida Our Virginia'

VIRGINIA — New COVID-19 cases in Virginia surpassed 2,000 for the third day in a row Friday, putting the daily infection rate in the same range it was in mid-February, when the pandemic was near its deadliest point.

The Virginia Department of Health reported 2,117 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, 2,361 new cases Thursday and 2,270 new cases Friday. The last time the VDH reported three consecutive days of positive cases above 2,000 was Feb. 17-19.

As new cases spike again, candidates for Virginia governor are debating how the pandemic should be handled now and what policies and rules they would enforce if elected governor in November.

Earlier this week, Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe's campaign mandated staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Republican nominee, Glenn Youngkin, has yet to issue the same requirement for his staff.

New COVID-19 cases have been spiking in Virginia for almost a month due to the delta variant, according to state health experts. The seven-day moving average for cases now stands at 1,880, up from an average of 1,373 cases per day a week ago.

As of Friday, Virginia's seven-day positivity rate among tests conducted stood at 7.7 percent, up from 7.1 percent a week ago and far above the pandemic low positivity rate of 1.3 percent on June 21, according to the VDH.

With COVID-19 cases surging in Virginia and across most of the country, McAuliffe, who is seeking a second term as governor, released an ad Friday taking aim at Youngkin over his approach to the pandemic.

The minute-long ad, titled “Don’t Florida Our Virginia,” begins with Youngkin responding to a question about the governing style and policies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who issued an executive order effectively prohibiting school districts from implementing mask mandates for students, teachers and staff.

DeSantis announced earlier this week the state Board of Education could withhold pay from school leaders who implement mask mandates for students.

“I think Gov. DeSantis has done a lot of really impressive things to lead,” Youngkin says in response to the question about DeSantis' actions as governor. “And this is where I look to lead as governor."

The McAuliffe campaign video ends with photos of Youngkin and DeSantis with the text “Don’t let Glenn Youngkin do to Virginia what Ron DeSantis did to Florida.”

One of the major themes of Youngkin’s campaign has been to undo many of the measures implemented in Virginia to fight the pandemic. While he continues to encourage Virginians to get vaccinated, the Republican has said he opposes mandates and he would leave mask-wearing and vaccination decisions up to companies, organizations and families.

On Thursday, Gov. Ralph Northam issued an order mandating mask-wearing for most students, teachers and staff.

Youngkin opposes such mandates coming from the governor's office. "I would strongly encourage the local school districts to allow the students and their families to make those decisions on their behalf, because it should be up to parents,” Youngkin told NBC29.