MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia State Fair topped Gov. Jim Justice’s news nuggets during Thursday’s COVID-19 press briefing.
The State Fair Board voted to proceed with holding the fair, he said, and it will run Aug. 13-22. Fair and festival guidelines, including rides, are posted at governor.wv.gov.
COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh talked about the shift of focus form the state as a whole to the local county level to monitor spread of the virus. He said they are seeing a creeping up of the R values in southern counties. The R values measure the virus reproduction rate and help gauge the spread.
So they want to increase testing there to see what’s going on, and if they find positive cases, do rapid case investigation and contact tracing.
Health officials around the world have said that summer weather will slow the growth and spread of the virus and Marsh fielded a question about concerns when fall rolls around.
Marsh said it’s understood that being outside is safer than being inside – partly because the virus isn’t contained in a relatively small space – and that it’s believed UV light reduces the ability of the virus to spread.
But already, after Memorial Day, he said again, 19 states have seen increased cases and nine have seen increased hospitalizations. Brazil has had a huge surge and now ranks second after the U.S. For its number of cases.
So looking ahead, “I think that we are at very great risk as a country and as a state” as people will move back indoors and the sun’s UV light starts to fade a bit.
But keeping safe is simple, he said: wear a mask, keep your distance, wash your hands.
Justice offered two more nuggets.
One, volunteer fire departments have asked him if they are allowed to do their fundraising drives. He said there are no restrictions on VFD fundraising. Just maintain social distance and follow all the other precautions.
And two, he noted that the stock market fell 1,300 points on Thursday. While it’s bad, it’s a sign that the U.S needs another stimulus package. State governments cant provide enough help. “We need the mother ship.”
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