MORGANTOWN — Members of the Monongalia County Commission said they’ll consider dropping the mask mandate for county facilities when the CDC pulls Monongalia County out of the “high” designation for community COVID-19 levels.
In response to public comments offered by county resident Jamie Summerlin, Commission President Tom Bloom acknowledged that the CDC has recommended relaxed mask guidelines for communities considered to be low- or medium-risk.
Unfortunately, Bloom said, Monongalia County, and the vast majority of West Virginia, didn’t fit that description as of Wednesday.
Commissioner Sean Sikora said Monongalia County is hovering right around 25 average daily positive cases per 100,000 people, which is the number at which a county becomes red, indicating high levels of spread.
“We are still fluttering around that 25 level. … And just so the public understands, we have been watching that closely. My thought process is we would revisit any of our policies once we were under 25 for a sustained period of time,” Commissioner Sean Sikora said, noting that crossing that 25 threshold was considered an emergency at the pandemic’s outset, triggering lockdowns among other measures.
However, in the last 40 days or so, the number of active cases in the county has fallen from 1,186 to 103, according to information provided by the Monongalia County Health Department.
Summerlin pointed out that masks are now optional in schools before quoting from President Joe Biden’s Tuesday evening State of the Union address in his remarks to the commission.
“Actually, a few hours ago, I heard these words … ‘Thanks to the progress this past year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives,’” Summerlin said, later pointing out the State of the Union Address was a largely unmasked event.
“We listened, got [vaccinated] and did the things we needed to do,” Summerlin said, adding, “the numbers are going down, and we just appreciate being able to continue to live freely — as Mountaineers live free — and do the things we need to do.”
Pothole relief
In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, Commissioner Jeff Arnett said a recent conversation with West Virginia Division of Highways personnel indicated pothole relief is coming.
He said the DOH is awaiting the opening of asphalt plants, which is expected “any day.”
“They are starting with the interstates and moving downwards. They have a plan to patch all the holes in a very quick, rapid way. At least that’s what we were told,” Arnett said. “They are aware of them. Some of them are extraordinary.”
Lastly, Bloom said the commission will light up the courthouse square blue and yellow in support of Ukraine.
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