Marsh to return to WVU duties, continue on as state advisor
The reopening of businesses, restaurants and other public attractions in West Virginia is proceeding smoothly, but people still need to take precautions against COVID-19, Gov. Jim Justice said Tuesday during his daily press briefing.
“We’ve got to reopen,” he said. “But, we have to live with the disease.”
Justice said social media images of people swimming together in the Ozarks or large crowds on the Ocean City, Md., boardwalk show people are still exercising poor judgment when it comes to the novel coronavirus.
“Please, West Virginians, stay socially distant,” Justice said. “We’re going to get through this.
“None of us think we’re going to get this and we get a little braver every day.”
During Week 5 of West Virginia Strong — The Comeback, state park cabins and lodges are open to in-state residents. Indoor bars can open at 50% capacity, while outdoor bars can fully open. Also allowed to open are museums and visitor centers, as well as zoos.
On Saturday, Justice’s plan allows for spas and massage businesses, swimming pools, as well as bowling alleys, pool halls, roller rinks and other places with indoor amusements to open — with limitations.
During Week 6 of the plan, casinos and movie theaters will reopen. Guidance documents will be provided when they are available.
Justice said there is still federal money available to small businesses under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. In mid-May, the SBA said 15,700 small businesses in the state received low-interest federal loans under the program, totaling $1.837 billion.
The PPP, launched in April, is a loan program designed to help small businesses keep employees on the payroll during the pandemic. The SBA will forgive the loans if employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the funds are used for necessities such as rent, payroll, mortgages and utilities. If these requirements can’t be met, then the loan matures in two years and carries an interest rate of 1%.
In other matters, Betsy Jividen, commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said everyone associated with the Huttonsville Correctional Center in Randolph County has been tested for COVID-19.
Justice ordered the tests after 25 inmates and eight staff members tested positive.
Jividen said the remaining results should be back in the next several days.
Clay Marsh, who has been overseeing the state’s COVID-19 response, will begin transitioning back to his position as West Virginia University’s vice president and executive dean for Health Sciences as the university moves toward having its campuses open to the public for the fall semester. Marsh, however, will continue to work with state officials to control the spread of the virus.
“Cases are going up in some states,” Marsh said Tuesday. “We have to be diligent and not become complacent.”
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