Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Thursday the state would not be ready to further ease pandemic restrictions for at least another week.

“I am watching closely what is going on in other parts of our country and we will continue to follow our data, and as soon as we can do it safely and responsibly we will, but certainly not before June the 26th,” Northam said.

In a press conference conducted in English and Spanish, Northam said he would focus on alleviating the high infection rate of COVID-19 among the state’s Latino population.

Most of Virginia moved into Phase Two on June 5. Northern Virginia and Richmond, which have seen more cases of COVID-19, moved into Phase Two on June 12. In Phase Three, Northam said, social gatherings would be allowed up to 250 people, gyms and fitness centers could operate at 75% capacity, and nonessential retail and restaurants could operate at full capacity.

Initially, Northam had said he would announce Phase Three guidelines Tuesday. He instead pushed off the new phase, saying he wanted more time to look at data in light of surges of cases in other states. Thursday marked yet another delay.

Nearly half the COVID-19 cases in Virginia with available demographic data are Latinos, far higher than their share of 10% of the population. Northam said he was extending free testing to areas with large Latino populations, partnering with localities to serve patients, and lowering barriers to enrolling in Medicaid. He urged immigrants to trust they would get health care and help regardless of their legal status.

“We’re not checking papers at these testing events or at clinics,” Northam said. “We just want to help you and your families.”

He applauded the move by Prince William County to end its program of cooperating with federal immigration officials, as well as the Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to extend protection for undocumented immigrants who arrived as children.

“I hope that this will help set a new tone of trust and support with our Latino communities, and I think we can all celebrate today’s Supreme Court ruling to extend DACA,” he added.

Several Latino leaders in Virginia amplified Northam’s message, including Dr. Sergio Rimola, a member of the Virginia Latino Advisory Board and Dalia Palchik, an Argentinian immigrant and the first Latina elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Palchik spoke in Spanish and encouraged residents to call a county hotline for help, noting that hundreds of families were already receiving assistance with basic needs. She said the hotline was confidential and that callers would not need to reveal their immigration status. She added that the county was establishing six sites for vulnerable people and those affected by homelessness to quarantine.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said the county was using a mobile testing unit to visit sites with vulnerable populations. He said there were 250 contact tracers on the ground, and that the county had signed a contract to hire as many as 400 more tracers.

Luis Aguilar, head of the immigration advocacy group CASA Virginia, applauded Northam’s initiative to collaborate with Latino leaders and said, “What we need to do as a government, as a people, is to be out there in the neighborhoods, ensuring that our people have … masks, that their stomachs are full, to make sure that our rent is paid, to ensure that we have access to healthcare.”

Previously, Aguilar had pointed to vast gaps in the government response to the coronavirus, telling DCist/WAMU in May, “The approach of relying on non-profits to step in during a pandemic … there needs to be a lot more from the local government.”

Republicans have been exasperated by the delay in announcing Phase Three. House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) wrote Wednesday that Northam was ignoring data that indicated it was safe to ease restrictions.

“Let us be clear, the Governor is once again walking back his own criteria. Tens of thousands of Virginians have lost their jobs, and unemployment spiked to 10 percent. If Governor Northam genuinely wants ‘science, data, and testing’ to drive our reopening, he should allow Phase 3 to proceed,” Gilbert wrote in a statement viewed by DCist/WAMU.

For further information about Spanish-language help with the coronavirus in Fairfax County, dial (703) 222-0880.