Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced that the commonwealth will ease a slew of coronavirus restrictions next week, citing the recent decline in infections and hospitalizations.

Starting on Monday, March 1, the state’s limit on outdoor gatherings will increase from 10 people to 25 people, and the 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. modified curfew will end. Restaurants and bars will be permitted to serve alcohol until 12 a.m. (they were previously required to close at 10 p.m.) and the capacity limit on outdoor amusement or entertainment venue will increase from 25% to 30%, with a maximum of 1,000 people. Private in-person gatherings will still be limited to 10 people.

“We hope that with trends continuing as they are, that we can look at further steps in the coming months,” Northam said during a press conference on Wednesday. “But it’s critical that we do this slowly and thoughtfully.” 

The restrictions roll back a flurry of measures Northam instituted in November and December last year, as cases began to increase and the region’s leaders feared further spikes would come after the holiday. Many of the restrictions were set to expire in January, but Northam extended them through February as infections and hospitalizations soared to record-breaking numbers in early January.

During the press conference on Monday, Northam justified the rollback amid optimistic trends in the commonwealth’s coronavirus metrics. Since reporting the highest-ever infection rates in mid-January, cases have steadily declined in the region. As of Wednesday, Virginia reported an average of daily new cases of 1,908. While this is nearly a third of the average reported during the January peak, average new cases remain at a level last reported in November, and still above those seen during the spring 2020 surge. The positivity rate has also fallen dramatically since peaking above 17% in early 2020, reaching a seven-day average of 8.0% as of Feb. 21. Hospitalizations in the state have plummeted in recent weeks, falling from more than 4,000 Virginians hospitalized with the virus on Jan. 17, to just over 1,500 residents hospitalized as of Wednesday.