Tag: Coronavirus

Gov. Justice Holding Off On Reinstating Mask Mandate As CDC Guidance Shifts

Despite growing concerns about the highly infectious coronavirus delta variant, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Monday he is not yet going to reinstate a mask mandate. However, in lieu of such a measure, Justice and his health advisers are urging high-risk individuals to wear masks in public and continue to ask all residents to get vaccinated.

That decision follows a study that showed that even those who are vaccinated can catch and spread the delta variant.

Given those findings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently changed course and is now recommending that everyone wear a face mask in indoor public places in any community where there is “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19 — regardless of vaccination status.

The CDC defines a “high transmission” rate as 100 or more new cases per 100,000 residents in the past week and “substantial transmission” as 50 to 99.99 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past week.

According to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, at least 60 percent of the counties in the U.S. fall in those two categories of worrisome spread.

Many states and localities across the nation are reinstating mask mandates — including 12 of 17 counties in Nevada, two counties in California, New Orleans and Kansas City.

In West Virginia, 38 of the state’s 55 counties have substantial or high transmission of the virus, according to the CDC’s tracking system — which differs from a map developed and used by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to guide the state’s response to the pandemic.

At a virtual news briefing Monday, Justice said reinstating a mask mandate would be “fragmenting our population like we can’t imagine” — alluding to the lingering politicization of the pandemic across the U.S.

“We absolutely do not need to do that today. But, absolutely always, it should be on the table — should it not? We have got to continue to monitor,” Justice said. “The medical experts will come to me and they will give me recommendations — and they have not recommended we do that.”

He added that much-anticipated events like the West Virginia State Fair and college football games are just around the corner and that he hopes residents can enjoy those gatherings.

“All of us want to continue — do we not — to try to live our life with a level of normalcy,” Justice said.

The governor and his advisers cited data that indicates the effectiveness of vaccines as a reason for their continued push to get shots in arms, as well as holding off on a mask mandate.

State Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh reiterated that vaccines are the best defense to protect people from serious illness or death from COVID-19, including the delta variant.

“In the United States, we know that the average [number of] people who are fully vaccinated [are] going to the hospital, going to the ICU or dying — are less than .1 percent — .01 percent, as I read the CDC data that just came out recently,” Marsh said.

Given that information, Justice continued Monday in making a push for more residents to get their shots so things can return to normal.

“What are you waiting on?” Justice asked West Virginians who have yet to get innoculated. “If we get vaccinated, we will absolutely be able to do exactly that.”

According to the DHHR’s Monday update, only seven counties are in the “red” and “orange” — the two colors that indicate the highest levels of spread in the state public health agency’s five-color system.

On Monday, State health officials reported 665 new cases of the coronavirus since the governor’s last briefing, which was held Thursday.

The DHHR currently reports 100 total cases of the delta variant statewide. During Monday’s briefing, Justice said the highly transmissible variant has been found in 29 West Virginia counties, and is most prevalent in Berkeley County.

DHHR Sec. Bill Crouch said Monday that data on variant sequencing may be lagging and not showing the current spread of delta — a strain first detected in India earlier this year that’s now the most common variant nationwide.

“The fact that we have 100 right now means we probably have 1,000 — we probably have 2,000 — we don’t know what the numbers are in the general population,” Crouch said. “What we know is what we’ve sequenced from those individuals [who’ve been positive]. ”

In total, the DHHR reports 167,681 cases of the virus since the pandemic began. Of those cases, 2,480 are considered active.

Officials report 772,988 residents have been fully vaccinated, and 869,921 — or 48.5 percent of the state’s population — have received at least one dose.

Justice Won’t Reinstate Mask Mandate Amid Delta Variant Surge

The increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, brought on by the Delta Variant, is raising alarm in many parts of the country — especially those with lagging vaccination rates.

In reaction, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that everyone who lives in areas with high caseloads of the coronavirus, including the vaccinated, wear masks when they are in indoor public spaces.

Additionally, vaccinated people who live with unvaccinated children or those who are immunocompromised should wear masks indoors in public spaces. This is to avoid bringing the virus into the home.

The updated guidance also recommends universal masking for teachers, staff and students in schools regardless of their vaccination status.

In his regular news conference, Gov. Jim Justice said he wasn’t ready to make that change in West Virginia. But he said the situation was fluid.

“We’ve all got to be smart enough to be open-minded,” Justice said. “As we continue to watch and listen to the experts we’re going to have to be open-minded as to what to do.”

Justice, when asked by a reporter about mask mandates in schools, said he didn’t think the state was there yet, but that “we knew it was coming.”

His comment was in reference to the low vaccination rates among those who are 12 to 17 years old. He also said he did not see there being a mandatory vaccine mandate for state employees or teachers as has been ordered in other states.

West Virginia has not seen large numbers of Delta variant cases, but those are rising each week. There are currently 43 cases in 19 counties. To date, there have been 2,936 coronavirus deaths statewide.

Hospitalizations in West Virginia due to COVID-19 have more than doubled since the Fourth of July. There are 111 hospitalizations in the state and there were 121 new confirmed cases reported on Tuesday, up from 51 cases a week ago.

Officials have repeatedly urged more residents to get vaccinated. Nearly 59 percent of all residents have received at least one dose, while 49 percent are fully vaccinated.

W.Va. Reports No New Cases Of Delta Variant In A Week, But Officials Remain On Alert

West Virginia public health officials have reported no new cases of a highly infectious variant of the coronavirus in the past week, but Gov. Jim Justice and others remain on alert.

Last Tuesday, state officials reported 12 total cases of the Delta variant — up from four the day before. Since then, no new cases of the strain have been reported in West Virginia.

Despite the leveling-off of cases in the past week, Justice said Tuesday the state should expect more cases of the variant.

“The best information we have tells us just this that we’re in our infancy in West Virginia with a Delta variant,” Justice said. “The odds are astronomical that that variant is going to go substantially greater than it is today.”

State Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh echoed the governor’s concerns. Because West Virginia has been behind other states when it came to earlier spikes in the pandemic, Marsh predicts that the state could still see an increase of cases from the Delta variant.

“We are not seeing explosive growth of this variant yet,” Marsh said. “But as we have seen throughout this pandemic, West Virginia is always a little bit slower to see some of the things that we see spreading from the rest of the world and from other states.”

Justice also reported Tuesday that more than one million of the state’s 1.8 million residents have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. With the Delta variant predicted to become the predominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States, Justice and his advisors continue to ask West Virginians to get vaccinated.

“If you’re not vaccinated, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution. You know, that’s all there is to it,” Justice said. “If we had you vaccinated, less people would die.”

To date, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has reported 164,279 total cases of the coronavirus, of which 1,093 are considered active. Officials report 2,901 residents have died from the virus.

Gov. Justice, Health Officials Continue To Warn Residents About Coronavirus Delta Variant

While new cases of the coronavirus continue to decline in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice and other health officials expressed concerns over a more contagious variant of the virus.

As of Tuesday, health officials have identified 12 cases of the Delta variant in West Virginia. Five of those cases are in Monongalia County, four are in Berkeley County. Hampshire, Marion and McDowell counties each have one case of the variant.

The number of cases of the Delta variant, which originated in India, have tripled in the state since Monday.

“The infectiousness of that variant is much faster than COVID — and it moves and everything,” Justice said during a Tuesday briefing on the state’s response to the pandemic.

He added that the Delta variant is “one that is scaring us to death.”

Justice said he and his advisors are closely watching the more contagious strand, but also noted that vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna remain highly effective against it. State Health Officer Dr. Ayne Amjad said vaccines are the best defense.

“Right now our priority is to make sure people get vaccinated fully,” Amjad said Tuesday. “We need to remind everyone to get fully vaccinated in West Virginia.”

State officials report that more than 834,000 West Virginians have received at least one dose of a vaccine. More than 743,000 residents are considered fully vaccinated.

In a split with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization is urging everyone — including those who are vaccinated — to continue wearing masks to protect themselves from the Delta variant. Justice lifted the state’s indoor mask mandate on June 20.

To date, West Virginia has recorded nearly 164,000 cases of the coronavirus, with almost 1,400 considered active. The virus has claimed the lives of 2,879 people in the state.

According to data from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the state recorded 25 new cases of the virus and one new death in the last 24-hour reporting period.

Eligible Consumers Can Receive Pandemic Broadband Discounts

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the need for high-speed internet connectivity, and it’s further emphasized the problems with high-speed access.

Starting on May 12, eligible consumers will be able to sign up for temporary discounts on broadband services and on the purchase of laptops, desktop computers, and tablets through the Federal Communications Commission’s $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program.

This program will continue until funding runs out or six months after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the pandemic.

Eligible households can receive up to $50 a month. Those living on qualified tribal lands can receive $75 per month. Consumers can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

To be eligible, one person in the household must be low-income, at or below 135% of the federal poverty level. Or, they may also be participating in assistance programs including SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline, and relying on free and reduced-price school meals or have received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year.

Alternatively, consumers who have suffered a large loss in income during the pandemic (due to job loss or furlough since Feb. 29, 2020) are also eligible, providing that the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers.

Consumers can locate a local internet provider from this list. The benefit is available to eligible new, prior, and existing customers of participating providers. More information is available on the website www.getemergencybroadband.org or by calling (833) 511-0311.

Investigation Into Missing COVID Deaths Completed

Gov. Jim Justice announced another round of unreported deaths in Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing.

The Department of Health and Human Resources discovered another 35 COVID-19 related deaths had gone unreported, adding to the more than 200 deaths discovered since early March, Justice said.

The DHHR has conducted an investigation into the reporting error. Despite the governor’s dismay at the undercount, he said the investigation determined there was no intention to report incorrect data.

“You don’t have anybody that is out there that is purposefully doing something that we can get our hands on right now,” Justice said.

The governor explained that the state had not implemented an electronic tracking system for COVID-19 deaths and had used a system that tracked death certificates. But delays in that paper system were the root of the problem in reporting these deaths. He indicated that would change.

So far, 2,676 people in West Virginia have died from COVID-19.

The report is now available on the Governor’s website.

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