MORGANTOWN — Gov. Jim Justice delayed his Wednesday press briefing until just after 5:30 p.m. so that he could dovetails the day’s news with the most recent COVID-19 testing numbers from the Department of Health and Human Resources.
With those numbers in hand, he announced that Week 1 of his plan – West Virginia Strong: The Comeback – would begin Thursday, followed by Week 2 starting Monday.
Those numbers were 1,109 positive cases out of 42,784 lab results reported, a cumulative positive rate of 2.59%. That percentage marked three consecutive days, he said, for meeting his below-3% benchmark for commencing the plan.
On Thursday, outpatient health care can resume. That includes primary care, acupuncture, chiropractic, dentistry, optometry and more.
Starting Monday, small businesses with less than 10 employees can consider reopening. Professional services – such as hair and nail care and pet grooming – can resume, with customers waiting outside in their cars and wearing masks during their service, and staff wearing masks and gloves.
Also during Week 2, churches and funeral homes will be open to limited gatherings subject to social distancing, with attendees seated in every other pew or row and wearing masks. Outdoor dining can resume with proper sanitizing, distancing and PPE for the staff.
When stores reopen next week and in the coming weeks, Justice said he is asking them to consider offering a couple early morning hours for seniors – those most vulnerable to the virus – to shop. “That’s the time when our stores are at their cleanest,” he said.
Daycare testing is also slated in the plan to begin during Week 1. DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch said more than 600 daycares have remained open during the pandemic to serve essential workers and a couple counties are ramping up testing for others to reopen.
Justice has said before that the state will assist businesses in obtaining PPE they need to reopen, but he clarified on Wednesday that it doesn’t mean the state will provide it – there isn’t enough. It can provide a list of approved PPE vendors. The governor’s site has posted guidance for small businesses, restaurants and churches.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh emphasized that those going to church should wear face coverings because the virus can be easily spread via singing. And those who are ill or at-risk should consider worshiping via online service.
Businesses that have employees who are sick or elderly should encourage them to work frm home or make sure they’re protected if they must come in.
Justice and his team also offered other tidbits of information.
Justice said testing of 306 staff and residents at the Clarksburg VA nursing home and there were no positive cases.
Marsh said Maryland’s Gov. Larry Hogan announced he’s decided to follow Justice’s lead and test at all nursing homes. “West Virginia was first and I think that was a very important decision,” Marsh said.
A vaccine produced in the United Kingdom, he said, was tested on six Rhesus monkeys and protected them from COVID-19 infection.
In response to a question from The Dominion Post, Adjutant General James Hoyer said the National Gaurd is progressing with plans to feed kids and seniors during the summer. They plan to source as much food as possible from West Virginia businesses and more details will be unveiled in the next several days.
Crouch addressed an apparent discrepancy in positive case numbers that prompted calls to the DHHR. The total positive case numbers were the same Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning: 1,095.
That wasn’t a mistake, he said. A DHHR release spelled out the issue. “As case surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state border to be tested.”
Beacuse of that, Monongalia and Kanawha counties saw their numbers drop overnight, while Hancock and Roane saw increases. The shifts canceled each other out, keeping the total the same, DHHR said.
Thursday’s COVIID-19 numbers also included an increase in deaths, to 40. As Justice always does, he said each number reflects a person with a family and friends.
The average age of those 40, he said, is age is 78: 35 were age 65-98; four were 50-65; one was 25. “This disease is after our old, after those who have been with us a long time.”
But we are still doing far better than our neighbors, he said, and recited the numbers: Pennsylvania, 2,373 deaths; Maryland, 1,078; Ohio, 937; Virginia, 522; Kentucky, 234.
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