|
CHARLESTON,
WV – Gov. Jim Justice joined State health leaders and
officials from his administration at the Capitol Complex in Charleston
today for a virtual press briefing to once again update the public on the
many measures being taken in the interest of protecting the public from
the spread of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
| | |
UPDATED COVID
NUMBERS OVERVIEW
On Tuesday, Gov. Justice provided another update on the number of
COVID-19 cases in the state, saying that West Virginians’ commitment to
practicing good social distancing and staying home has the state
“trending in a great way.” |
|
|
Click here to view more photos
|
“We absolutely have to stay the course,”
Gov. Justice said. “But you can see the results are really rock solid
and, really, if we can keep trending this way, hopefully we can go back
to a way of life where we’re working, and even the possibility of school,
and absolutely our polls will be open for a June 9th election, and all
the good things.
“We’ve got to be cautious. I don’t want to send everybody out dancing in
the streets right yet. But, absolutely, we’re getting there and we’re
getting better.”
Visit
Coronavirus.wv.gov to view the most up-to-date COVID-19 testing numbers | | |
|
The Governor also discussed West
Virginia’s relative success when it comes to limiting the number of
COVID-19-related fatalities compared to surrounding states.
STATE – FATALITIES*
Pennsylvania – 524
Ohio – 274
Maryland – 262
Virginia – 154
Kentucky – 104
West Virginia – 9
*Data as of April 14 at 10:30 a.m. EDT | | |
|
“It’s nine too many, but it’s a heck of
a lot better than anything that’s going on around us,” Gov. Justice said.
“And understand just this, there’s no other state anywhere close to us
that has any results like that until you go way out west, where the
populations are few and far between. Remember, we’re within a rock’s
throw of two-thirds of the population of this country.
“It is testimony to what you, as West Virginians, have done all across
this state and you, as businesses, that have really sacrificed and all
the great stuff that you’re doing,” Gov. Justice continued. “I thank you
in every way, West Virginia, and I mean it, you’ve done really, really
good. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to be able to see us back to work or
back to school or whatever it may be.”
| | |
PROGRAM TO FEED
CHILDREN PROVIDING 1 MILLION MEALS PER WEEK
Gov. Justice also provided an update on the State’s efforts to ensure
that students across West Virginia are continuing to be well-nourished
and fed during the ongoing statewide school closure, through a
collaborative effort between the West Virginia Department of Education,
Tourism Office, National Guard, and Department of Agriculture.
“We now have a weekly capability of administering 1 million meals per
week to the students of West Virginia,” Gov. Justice said. “This
operation is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. But it’s exactly
what West Virginians always seem to do in times of trouble.”
Click here to read
more about this multi-agency effort |
|
|
GOVERNOR AGAIN
URGES CENSUS PARTICIPATION
The Governor also continued to urge all West Virginians to take the
opportunity to complete the 2020 United States Census.
“We’ve all got to be counted,” Gov. Justice said. “Please be counted. The
federal dollars that may not flow to us if you aren’t counted would be
really detrimental.”
|
|
|
STATE ASSISTING
WAYNE COUNTY NURSING HOME
The Governor also provided an update on a recent surge in coronavirus
cases at a Wayne County nursing home.
With 36 patients and 30 employees testing positive, the Governor
announced that the West Virginia National Guard and the Department of
Health and Human Resources are “working closely with the Wayne County
Health Department to ensure and try to help in every way possible to get
everybody through this.” |
|
|
WEST VIRGINIA
NATIONAL GUARD UPDATE
Today, the West Virginia National Guard provided training on proper
personal protective equipment, sanitizing and decontamination methods and
best practices for the prevention of COVID-19 spread to staff at the
Barboursville Veterans home. Members of Task Force Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Enterprise (TF-CRE) will make
additional visits to the facility in the coming days to train all support
staff and facilitate implementing plans and procedures for how to deal
with COVID-19 positive cases, if any were to arrive.
"West Virginia has one of the highest per capita populations of
veterans in the nation and we must do everything in our power to ensure
that they are protected against this virus," stated Maj. Gen. James
Hoyer, adjutant general of the WVNG. "In addition to assisting our
veterans, our organization continues to prioritize West Virginia's
elderly population and will move forward with plans to provide
COVID-19-specific prevention training to all long-term care facilities in
the state. We have made good progress in flattening the curve here, but
we cannot let our guard down, especially with our most vulnerable
population." |
|
|
|
Also today, members of the WVNG, Kanawha
County Emergency Ambulance Authority, Yeager Airport, Kanawha County
Emergency Management, Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, and JanCare
Ambulance tested decontamination and sanitization methods for first
responder vehicles at Executive Air in Charleston. The goal will be to
establish a decontamination and sanitization lane for ambulances, police
cars and fire/emergency services vehicles that have transported known or
potential COVID-19 patients, ultimately providing protection for our
first responders and their families.
Click here to read
more about the National Guard's latest efforts to combat the spread of
COVID-19 in West Virginia
| | |
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, call the State’s
toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or
visit Coronavirus.wv.gov. |
|
|