MORGANTOWN — West Virginia’s cumulative positive COVID-19 rate reached 2.97% Wednesday, just shy of the benchmark Gov. Jim Justice has said could trigger resumption of some preventative actions.
He addressed that possibility during his Wednesday briefing. “What if it reaches 3%,” he asked.
Other states are dealing with positivity rates “off the chart,” he said. So here, “that’s not going to be a show stopper, but at the same time we are going ot be very concerned about that.”
Questioned about it later, he added that he can’t say specifically what he might do. “From the standpoint of pulling the plug and starting to shut things down, we’re not going to do that.” But they’re watching it closely. “We sure want it to come down.”
Shutdowns would carry negative consequences, he said. “This is just a benchmark. This not a line in the sand or a national guideline.”
Justice reiterated that people across the state are making sacrifices and the most important thing to do right now, aling with wearing masks and social distancing, is getting tested so asymptomatic people can be identified and the spread can be slowed. “We just gotta show up, that’s all there is to it.”
Tuesday, Election Day, saw a dip in testing, with just 5,717 getting tested and 279 confirmed positives. Adjutant General James Hoyer again said the turnout is too low – about 4.6 people per 1,000 population; it needs to be 7 per 1,000.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh again commented on the color-coded maps, saying they were created to draw awareness of community spread and motivate people to try to stop it. The maps aren’t tools to reduce personal liberties but to serve as a call to arms “to protect the people that you love.”
Justice expressed thanks for his overwhelming re-election victory and said he was asked Tuesday night what he’ll now do different about handling the pandemic.
Nothing will change, he said. “There’s not been one thread of politics in handling this pandemic. … If we don’t watch out, this could get way worse than it already is.”
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