MORGANTOWN — Tuesday’s COVID-19 briefing from the governor’s office had no new announcements but focused on what’s around the bend as the cases level off and dissipate and the state reboots. COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh called it “repatriation.”
Gov. Jim Justice looked at the trends in positive cases: April 1, 45 new cases; April 8, 67; April 10, 74. Then a sharp drop (excluding the 67 cases reported at a Wayne County nursing home) in the past three days: 16, 33, 14.
“We’re trending in a great way,” he said. “I don’t want to send everybody out in the streets right yet, but absolutely we’re getting better.”
Tuesday afternoon’s numbers from the Department of Health and Human Resources were 694 positive cases out of 17,224 tested, for a rate of 3.78%.
The death toll rose to 10, but stood at nine during the briefing. “It’s nine too many but it’s one heck of a lot better than anything going on around us,” Justice said. But we can’t jump the gun and trigger another surge.
Marsh said West Virginia is leading the nation in response to the virus, with a far lower rate of positive cases and deaths. The panhandles, both close to major urban areas, have hot spots and will need to be watched. But state agencies are gearing up for the next phase.
“This next stage is going to be much trickier than the first stage,” he said. And all the precautions won’t go away overnight. “We will approach this in some ways as a new normal.”
As we return outside and back to work, he said, we will need to keep social distancing and wear masks where we can’t social distance. We’ll need to keep protecting the most vulnerable, and those who are sick will still need to be quarantined and their contacts traced and tested.
There will be some new hot spots, Marsh said. We will need to buy time and wait for treatment drugs and a vaccine to emrge. “West Virginia, you’re doing great, don’t let up.”
April 30 is still the target back-to-school date and Justice said he remains hopeful kids will be able to go back for at least a couple weeks. That would benefit the kids and the learning process, he school authorities have told him. They’re talking about it every day, and when he has news to announce he will.
President Trump stirred some dissent by stating Monday that he has total authority to decide on reopening schools, businesses and other institutions, according to news reports, and that the governors know that.
Asked about that, Justice said, “I don’t know.”
Justice said, “We have a great president that’s under unbelievable pressure,” and Trump was stating an opinion. “We should step back and give passes on opinions.”
The timing of reopening the state remains uncertain, Justice and Marsh said, since the disease is still in play. Marsh said Justice has never made a decision not in the best interests of the people’s health, and Justice said he won’t do anything if his experts say it will endanger the state.
Justice referred again to the nine deaths. “The odds are great we’ll lose more, but the least is far, far, far better. Let’s just keep this trend line going and we’re going to get through this.”
WorkForce West Virginia, with the help of the National Guard, is still processing unemployment claims around the clock, Justice said, “We’ve got problems and we’ve got issues but we’re getting better. … If you haven’t received a check yet, we’re coming.” The checks will be retroactive, when they arrive.
The state is still awaiting federal direction on claims from the self-employed and independent contractors, he said, and those residents still can’t file.
Adjutant General James Hoyer said they tested using Amazon Connect software to process unemployment calls at the WVU call center Monday night, and of 263 calls only two were dropped. Additional automated systems will be going into place at other call centers and WorkForce regional offices. They’re also preparing to try some customer relations management software.
DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch restated the need for foster parents during the pandemic. Interested parents can get information at missionwv.org or by calling 304-562-0723. With the stay-at-home order in place, he said, much of the certification process can be done online, but such things as fingerprinting and home-check visits must still be done in person and staff are still doing those things.
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