RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency in response to the growing spread of the coronavirus. Northam also advised all Virginians to avoid large gatherings “for the time being.”

Also Thursday, Public school districts in Richmond and Loudoun County announced closures, a day after a cascade of public universities began to announce plans to suspend on-campus instruction and move to remote learning. Locally, Averett University in Danville joined a growing list of Virginia colleges that have suspended all face-to-face classroom instruction. Averett announced Thursday that all classes will be conducted online through April 1, at which point the college will reassess the situation.

The Virginia Department of Health now reports 18 presumptive positive or confirmed cases as of Thursday evening. Two of the 18 cases are being treated in Texas. 117 possible cases have tested negative. None has been confirmed in the southwest region, and no deaths have been reported in Virginia.