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Eleven W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that eleven counties will be remote learning-only for the week of Nov. 8. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11:20 p.m. — more than six hours later than usual. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources told West Virginia Public Broadcasting the delay was “due to further data validation.”

Hampshire, Jackson, Lincoln, Marshall, Ohio, Putnam, Tyler, Wood and Wyoming counties, which were in the orange zone on the state’s color-coded map, will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

Mineral and Mingo were the only counties in the red category and will also be remote learning-only.

The COVID-19 Data Review Panel also announced that seven counties shifted in their color zones. They included:

Berkeley County: Moved from orange to gold based on additional testing results received and a reduced positivity rate.
Lewis County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and three cases being removed due to case status updated and one case removed due to outbreak information being updated.
Marion County: Moved from green to yellow due to data validation and one case being added due to outbreak information being updated.
Marshall County: Moved from red to orange due to data validation of 11 nursing home residents excluded and transfer of three cases to correct county of residence.
Monroe County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and one nursing home resident excluded.
Morgan County: Moved from yellow to gold due to additional testing results received.
Randolph County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation of ten college students isolating in dorms excluded and transfer of three cases to correct county of residence.

Red (Substantial Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. No extracurricular competitions or practices are permitted. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in red include: Mineral, Mingo

Orange (Heightened Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. Extracurricular practices may occur, however, competitions may not. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in orange include: Hampshire, Jackson, Lincoln, Marshall, Ohio, Putnam, Tyler, Wood, Wyoming

Gold (Elevated Community Transmission): In-person instruction is permitted with restrictions, including face coverings at all times for grades 3-12. Extracurricular activities are permitted. Competitions can take place against schools within the same county as well as schools in other gold counties. Counties in gold include: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Pleasants, Wetzel, Wirt

Yellow (Increased Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings at all times for grades six and above. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in yellow include: Boone, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, McDowell, Monroe, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Upshur, Wayne

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Barbour, Braxton, Brooke, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Logan, Mason, Mercer, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Webster

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

Updates to the map are usually announced each Saturday at 5 p.m. and will be in effect until the following Saturday at the same time, according to the WVDE. The only exception would be if a county turns red during the week.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, DHHR reports 27,742 total cases of the virus and 502 deaths — 15 of those deaths were announced on Saturday alone. At least 6,454 cases are considered active, according to DHHR.

Six W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that six counties will be remote learning-only for the week of Nov. 1. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.

Berkeley, Morgan, Upshur, Wayne and Wyoming counties, which were in the orange zone on the state’s color-coded map, will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

Mingo was the only county in the red category.

Some counties shifted in their color zones. They included:

Barbour County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation of five cases removed from previous positive cases from the 7-day period.
Boone County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and ten nursing home residents excluded from case counts.
Hampshire County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and transfer of two cases to correct county of residence.
Mineral County: Moved from green to yellow due to data validation and received one transfer of case to correct county of residence.
Wood County: Moved from yellow to gold due to data validation of one case updated to confirmed.
Pleasants County: Moved from green to yellow due to data validation of one case updated to confirmed.

Gold (Elevated Community Transmission): In-person instruction is permitted with restrictions, including face coverings at all times for grades 3-12. Extracurricular activities are permitted. Competitions can take place against schools within the same county as well as schools in other gold counties. Counties in gold include: Braxton, Clay, Jackson, Jefferson, Logan, Marshall, Monroe, Putnam, Tyler, Wood

Yellow (Increased Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings at all times for grades six and above. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in yellow include: Barbour, Boone, Cabell, Hampshire, Lincoln, Mercer, Mineral, Ohio, Pleasants, Raleigh, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Brooke, Calhoun, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Mason, McDowell, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

Updates to the map are announced each Saturday at 5 p.m. and will be in effect until the following Saturday at the same time, according to the WVDE. The only exception would be if a county turns red during the week.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports 24,460 total cases of the virus and 457 deaths. At least 5,176 cases are considered active, according to DHHR.

Eight W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that eight counties will be remote learning-only for the week of Oct. 18. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m.

Berkeley, Mingo, Morgan, Randolph, Upshur, Wirt and Wyoming counties, which were in the orange zone on the state’s color-coded map, will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

Doddridge was the only county in the red category and will also be required to teach students virtually this week.

Some counties also shifted in their color zones, according to the state’s COVID-19 Data Review Panel. They included:

Barbour County. Moved from green to yellow due to data validation due to three cases updated to confirmed status and three cases updated with correct county of residence.
Clay County. Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and transfer of one case to correct county of residence.
Harrison County. Moved from yellow to green due to data validation and exclusion of twenty-two nursing home patients.
Upshur County. Moved from gold to orange due to data validation and one probable case updated to confirmed status.

Orange (Heightened Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. Extracurricular practices may occur, however, competitions may not. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in orange include: Berkeley, Mingo, Morgan, Randolph, Upshur, Wirt, Wyoming

Gold (Elevated Community Transmission): In-person instruction is permitted with restrictions including face coverings for grades 3-12. Extracurricular activities are permitted. Competitions can take place against schools within the same county as well as schools in other gold counties. Counties in gold include: Gilmer, Jefferson, Marshall, Pendleton, Wood

Yellow (Increased Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings at all times for grades six and above. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in yellow include: Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Clay, Jackson, Logan, Mercer, Mineral, Monroe, Nicholas, Putnam, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wayne, Webster

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Cabell, Calhoun, Fayette, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Mason, McDowell, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Raleigh, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Wetzel

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports 19,801 total cases of the virus to-date and 399 deaths. 4,839 cases are considered active, according to DHHR.

Last County In W.Va. To Report Virus Case Now Deemed Critical

The last county in West Virginia to report a confirmed case of the coronavirus is now deemed the most critical by health officials as the number of weekly cases statewide reached a record high.

Doddridge County on Wednesday became the only county in the red category on the state’s color-coded map. That’s the most serious of five colors, indicating substantial community transmission of the virus.

Under the red category, public schools are prohibited from conducting in-person classes while sports events and other extracurricular activities are postponed. Schools in the county were closed starting Oct. 6 due to the rise in cases.

According to the Doddridge County Health Department, the county has had just 62 positive virus cases since the pandemic began. It has 23 active cases and a 14-day rolling average of 25.37 virus cases per 100,000 population. The benchmark for the red status is 25.

Doddridge County reported its first positive virus case in late July and was by far the last to do so. It has now surpassed 11 of the state’s 55 counties in the total number of reported cases.

Dr. Ayne Amjad, the state’s health officer, said Wednesday she visited Doddridge County and was told that despite a statewide order for residents to wear masks at indoor public places, “a lot of people were not privy to wearing masks.”

Doddridge County is located in the north-central part of the state and has a population of about 8,400 residents. The largest city in the county, West Union, has about 800 residents. Doddridge is one of a dozen counties with populations under 10,000.

According to U.S. Census figures, about 22% of Doddridge County’s population is over age 65. The virus usually results in only mild to moderate symptoms, but is particularly dangerous for the elderly and people with underlying health problems.

Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday that state-sponsored testing was being offered Wednesday in Doddridge County, the same service that is offered in other counties whenever cases spike.

In the past two months, Justice has pushed for more aggressive testing statewide in order to identify people who otherwise may not be showing symptoms before they spread the virus to others. Critics say the increase in testing is aimed at lowering the rate of viruses in counties and thus enabling schools to reopen under the color-coded chart.

The state surpassed 200 positive virus cases for the first time during the pandemic on Aug. 30. It has hit that benchmark 16 times since. Last week the state reported a weekly record of 1,345 cases.

“The more you test, the more spreaders we will find to stop this,” Justice said. “You best better keep your guard up. People die if we don’t do our part.”

West Virginia has reported at least 391 virus-related deaths. Statewide, there are a record 180 people currently hospitalized for the virus, including 28 on ventilators.

Four W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that four counties will be remote learning-only for the week of Oct. 11. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m.

Doddridge, Harrison, Mingo and Upshur counties, which were in the orange zone on the state’s color-coded map, will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

No counties were in the red category, but other counties shifted in their color zones.

They included:

Boone County moved from gold to yellow using the percent positivity rate which is less than 4 percent over 7-days due to data validation and removing duplicate cases.

Cabell County moved from orange to gold as the percent positivity is less than 5 percent over a 7-day period due to data validation and updating five cases with the correct county of residence.

Logan County moved from orange to yellow using the percent positivity rate which is less than 4 percent over 7-days due to data validation and updating 14 cases with the correct county of residence.

Upshur County moved from gold to orange as the percent positivity is greater than 5 percent over 7-days due to four probable cases updated to confirmed status and one case added during the time period.

Wayne County moved from green to yellow using the percent positivity rate which is greater than 3 percent over 7-days due to data validation and three updates to county of residence.

Orange (Heightened Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. Extracurricular practices may occur, however, competitions may not. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in orange include: Doddridge, Harrison, Mingo, Upshur

Gold (Elevated Community Transmission): In-person instruction is permitted with restrictions including face coverings at all times for grades 3-12. Extracurricular activities are permitted and competitions can take place against schools within the same county as well as schools in other gold counties. Counties in gold include: Barbour, Berkeley, Cabell, Jackson, Kanawha, Putnam, Randolph

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Braxton, Brooke, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mineral, Monongalia, Monroe, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Raleigh, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Webster, Wetzel, Wood, Wyoming

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports 17,913 total cases of the virus and 381 deaths. 4,446 cases are considered active, according to DHHR.

W.Va. Education Union Files Injunction As Governor Defends School Re-Entry Map

The West Virginia Education Association, which is West Virginia’s largest teachers’ union in the state, filed an injunction Monday morning challenging the safety of the governor’s school re-entry map.

The injunction claims the state map is unsafe and under constant manipulation by state officials just to get students back into brick-and-mortar classrooms.

The injunction also seeks to temporarily suspend the map, as well as the enforcement of the West Virginia Open Meeting Act as it relates to the panel that meets prior to the map’s posting on Saturday nights.

The school re-entry map is determined by a panel of experts every Saturday from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia Department of Education.

Last week, WVEA President Dale Lee announced his intention to file the injunction with the Kanawha County Circuit Court. It was officially filed Monday.

“We know how important it is for students to be back in classrooms working with their teachers,” Lee said in a news release. “No one wants in-person education more than our members, but they no longer feel their safety is the top priority of our state government’s leadership. Our goal is for students to return to school as soon as possible but we must be able to do that safely based on the circumstances in individual counties.”

The union points to Harvard’s color-coded map, which shows a higher rate of COVID-19 spread in the state. The union is calling on Gov. Jim Justice to follow this map, or independent health experts, instead.

Justice responded to the injunction in a recent virtual press briefing.

“If we were going just by the Harvard model, we know, we would have a third to a half of the state of West Virginia, probably the safest state in the nation, a third to a half of the state would be shut down,” Justice said. “You know, from the standpoint of being in school … We know 70 percent of the people in the state of West Virginia wanted to go back to school.”

The governor argues the move by the union is political.