April 27, 2026
Media Contact: Avanti Allen-Benson, avanti.allen-benson@vdh.virginia.gov
Portsmouth Health Department, Norfolk Health Department, Portsmouth Police, Fire, and Portsmouth Office of Emergency Management, Participate in Biological Event Exercise
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Portsmouth Health District, in partnership with the Portsmouth Health Department, Norfolk Health Department, Portsmouth Police Department, Portsmouth Fire Department, and Portsmouth Emergency Management, is conducting a Point of Dispensing (POD) exercise on Thursday, April 30, as part of the Virginia Department of Health’s Requisite Cardinal, a biological event exercise.
“Drills of this nature are necessary for an essential organization to be prepared for major events. It allows neighboring cities and other organizations to work together as though the drill is a real-life emergency”, said Stephen Williams, Portsmouth Health Department Emergency Coordinator.
The purpose of Requisite Cardinal is to validate and evaluate the various aspects of a public health response to a biological incident. In this year’s scenario, VDH’s response to a simulated novel influenza (Flu) A virus.
This exercise is a collaboration with emergency management, health care coalitions, government, and private industry partners. The Local Health District is one of about 20 participating local health districts.
For this exercise, the Portsmouth and Norfolk Health Departments will test their ability to set up and host a distribution event to deliver medical countermeasures, such as antiviral medication, to individuals in Portsmouth and Norfolk. This exercise will evaluate the health departments’ ability to:
- Set up and operate POD
- Quickly and safely dispense or administer
- Distribute
- Serve people quickly and
This exercise emphasizes the commitment of VDH, Norfolk and Portsmouth Health Departments and our local community partners to emergency preparedness and community safety.
Additional information about the Virginia Department of Health Emergency Preparedness Program can be found at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-preparedness/.
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