Bar seating in Virginia restaurants will remain banned once the state moves into Phase Three of pandemic restrictions, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Tuesday.

“We are taking a cautious approach as we enter Phase Three and maintaining the current restrictions on bar areas,” Northam said in a statement.

Leaders in the region have reacted with caution as Virginia prepared to lift caps on restaurants and non-essential retail, and ease other restrictions.

Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw (D-Braddock) wrote to Northam earlier Tuesday, urging the governor to reconsider allowing bars to operate at full capacity.

“If @GovernorVA thinks people will stay six feet apart after a few drinks at the bar, I’ll take him on a Fairfax County bar crawl Friday night. If people are six feet apart, I’ll buy him all the Virginia bourbon he can drink,” Walkinshaw tweeted.

If @GovernorVA thinks people will stay six feet apart after a few drinks at the bar, I’ll take him on a Fairfax County bar crawl Friday night. If people are six feet apart, I’ll buy him all the Virginia bourbon he can drink.

— Supervisor James Walkinshaw (@JRWalkinshaw) June 30, 2020

Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, lamented the late notice of Northam’s announcement.

“We are disappointed in this last minute change by the governor. Our restaurants have spent significant amounts to prepare for bars opening and six hours before we pull the rug out,” Terry wrote to DCist/WAMU.

Virginia currently has 60,124 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Although the number of cases was trending down for most of June, in the past few days the caseload started ticking back up, according to data released by the Virginia Department of Health.

This story has been updated with reaction from Eric Terry.