Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Tuesday that he would step up enforcement of his executive order requiring people to cover their faces in public indoor spaces. Northam said he is directing teams of inspectors to conduct surprise visits to businesses.

“If you own a restaurant or a business and you’re not following regulations, your license will be on the line,” he said.

The action comes as COVID-19 cases climb in Virginia, part of a recent trend upward after a period of decline. Most of that increase in cases can be attributed to new infections on the Eastern Shore, fueled in large part by young people flouting social distancing guidelines, Northam said. Northern Virginia has seen an ebb in cases recently.

Northam issued an executive order in late May mandating masks inside businesses, houses of worship, on public transportation and in government offices. Under the order, violations can be punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Virginia House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert (Shenandoah) wrote Tuesday to DCist/WAMU, speaking out against the order, writing that its enforcement “puts businesses in an untenable position. To keep their licenses, they must confront customers who choose not to comply.”

In remarks to reporters, Northam said he had no plans to further ease pandemic restrictions given the rise in cases. Further, he said he could tighten those already in effect, for example, by shrinking the maximum gathering size from 250 people to 50 people.

Virginia is still building certain components of its COVID-19 response. At Tuesday’s news conference, officials addressed a statewide lag in hiring bilingual contact tracers, as well as concerns about Virginia’s nursing homes and long wait times at unemployment call centers.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said that despite a concerted effort to hire bilingual —particularly Spanish-speaking contact tracers — the state hadn’t hired “nearly as many as we’d like.” Instead, he said, Virginia would stand up virtual contact centers where speakers fluent in languages other than English could provide backup for contact tracers.

Officials also said Tuesday that widespread testing at nursing homes also is underway, if behind schedule. Dr. Laurie Furlano, who heads a task force on long-term care facilities, said that of the state’s 280 nursing homes, 204 facilities received tests or were in the process of testing. Others were either scheduled for testing or are being scheduled within the next 10 days, Furlano said.

Northam’s office said last month that the Virginia Department of Health aimed to test all residents and staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, by July 15.

State officials also say they are tapping outside contractors to help alleviate long wait times for unemployment centers. Unemployment benefits have been an ongoing struggle for many Virginians out of work due to the pandemic. Megan Healy, the chief workforce advisor to Northam, acknowledged complaints of long delays in reaching services for unemployment benefits and said the Virginia Employment Commission has contracted with two third-party call centers to double its capacity for handling phone calls to 60,000 calls a week.