A fifth person in Upshur County has tested positive for COVID-19, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported on Monday.
Just an hour earlier, the nurse director of the Upshur-Buckhannon Health Department told My Buckhannon that the four people who previously tested positive for COVID-19 in Upshur County have recovered and are out of quarantine.
Sue McKisic said at the time she only knew of the four previously identified cases. She could not immediately be reached after the 5 p.m. report from the DHHR was released.
Overall, the number of COVID-19 cases in West Virginia crossed the 1,200 mark on Monday with 29 new confirmed cases bringing the total to 1,224.
No new deaths were reported as Week 2 of Gov. Jim Justice’s reopening plan got underway, with hair salons and other small businesses getting the go-ahead to once again welcome customers.
As the regulations are lifted, Justice and his top health officials stressed that West Virginians should continue to demonstrate personal responsibility for protecting the health of others by wearing facial coverings and continuing to socially distance when in public.
“We really have to be cautious and disciplined,” State Health Officer Cathy Slemp said during the governor’s daily press briefing.
She noted that all businesses are required to abide by DHHR guidelines that set customers limits by square footage and reiterated that gatherings of more than 25 people remain prohibited.
Justice echoed her words of caution, saying those who are most at risk should continue to remain at home whenever possible.
“This disease is still with us. It is here, right now,” Justice said. “But things are really getting better…. Week 2 starts today. The safer-at-home order is in effect.”
One part of the state that will be slower to reopen are tourist destinations that attract out-of-state travelers. In response to a question about reopening campsites at state parks, Justice noted that those are used in large part by people coming from out-of-state areas with significant outbreaks.
West Virginia also got good news about providing meals to students during the pandemic.
State superintendent of schools Clayton Burch announced that meals for students will continue to be available through the end of each county’s school year. The state was also approved for special pandemic funds to provide $300 SNAP benefit cards to more than 200,000 eligible students for use over the summer months – about a $72 million injection into the state’s economy, Burch said.
The cumulative positive rate – which needs to remain below 3 percent per the governor’s reopening plan – dropped slightly to 2.3 percent. The daily rate of positive cases reported Monday was 1.3 percent.
About 43 percent of the West Virginia cases remain active, according DHHR data. Of the cases that are no longer active, 630 people have recovered and 50 have died, a mortality rate of about 7.4 percent.
New cases were reported Monday in Berkeley, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Marshall, Mercer, Monongalia, Putnam, Upshur and Wayne counties.
CONFIRMED CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (5), Berkeley (166), Boone (6), Braxton (2), Brooke (3), Cabell (44), Fayette (16), Gilmer (3), Grant (3), Greenbrier (7), Hampshire (8), Hancock (11), Hardy (9), Harrison (31), Jackson (135), Jefferson (82), Kanawha (168), Lewis (4), Lincoln (2), Logan (13), Marion (46), Marshall (19), Mason (12), McDowell (6), Mercer (11), Mineral (18), Mingo (2), Monongalia (107), Monroe (5), Morgan (13), Nicholas (6), Ohio (33), Pendleton (3), Pleasants (2), Pocahontas (2), Preston (13), Putnam (29), Raleigh (10), Randolph (4), Ritchie (1), Roane (6), Summers (1), Taylor (7), Tucker (4), Tyler (3), Upshur (5), Wayne (90), Wetzel (3), Wirt (3), Wood (41), Wyoming (1).
Want to keep up-to-date with the latest local information about COVID-19? Bookmark our COVID-19 HQ page, which has the latest local news, numbers and more, like the charts below.
