At the time of this writing, Gov. Jim Justice faces two lawsuits: One from bar owners in Monongalia County (DP-09-23-20) and one from the West Virginia Education Association (DP-10-06-20); one for keeping establishments shuttered and the other for opening facilities too soon. Both seem to take issue with Justice’s technicolor dream-map.
Also at the time of this writing, bars in Mon County are still under orders to remain closed, with no opening date in sight; Mon County is green on the County Alert map (based on percent positivity, though we should be yellow based on infection rate) and on the School Alert map; Mon County is orange on the Harvard map (from which West Virginia’s COVID map was frankensteined); and West Virginia’s COVID response is starting to sound like Whose Line is It Anyway?: “Where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.”
As we’ve said before, we conditionally support the bar closures. From a public health standpoint, minimizing the number of locations that could become super-spreader centers is in the best interest of all Mon County residents. But as we’ve also said, only a subset of alcohol-serving establishments are forced to shut down and Justice has offered no substantial assistance to help them survive the shutdowns.
Our main issue right now is the hypocrisy of it all: The West Virginia COVID maps use the lowest possible metric (some would argue number manipulation) to ensure that students go back to school and Friday night football can resume. But at the same time it is safe enough to send kids into classrooms and congregate for afterschool activities, it is not safe enough for bars to open their doors — at all. It’s not even a matter right now of following certain restrictions or only opening at half capacity. No. They are just flat-out ordered to stay shuttered. If we really are in the green, why can’t bars reopen?
Now, if we were using the Harvard map — as the WVEA would prefer — neither schools nor bars could reasonably be opened for occupancy. Mon County is orange by Harvard’s metrics, which means “stay-at-home-orders and/or rigorous test and trace programs advised.” That’s a very different message from the West Virginia COVID map’s green designation, which means “minimal community transmission.”
We do wonder, though, if Justice is reluctant to allow bars to reopen because they are a primary gathering place for WVU students, who are largely not counted when deciding the County Alert color. If a community outbreak resulted from WVU students going to bars, would individual student cases have to be included in the county numbers again? That would surely send us back to red and online learning.
Justice can’t have it both ways. It can’t be safe enough to send kids to in-person class and play sports but not safe enough to allow the bars to open. The double-standards coming out of the Justice administration are why so few people trust the COVID maps — and that does not bode well as winter approaches and the pandemic rages on.
