executive order Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Justice Issues New COVID-19 Order To Dial Back Social Distancing, Mask Rules

Since first declaring a state of emergency in March 2020, Gov. Jim Justice has issued 91 executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, he signed a new, six-page order, undoing more than two-thirds of what he’s signed into temporary law over the last year.

The governor removed a 100-person cap on social events that’s been in place since March 2021. He’s also reinstating the state’s requirements for unemployment benefits, which he temporarily relaxed in 2020 as the state saw an increase in lay-offs and reduced working hours as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year’s executive orders that relaxed unemployment requirements are set to expire by June 2021, according to the latest order.

“There’s a lot of stuff that was very valuable when we put it in,” Justice said Monday during a regularly scheduled online press briefing. “It’s now lived its time and it’s time to move forward.”

There are still some key provisions that will remain in place, even if they undergo some changes.

All West Virginians more than 9 years old still have to wear a face covering if they’re in a public setting where social distancing is not possible. But, after midnight Monday, Justice’s new order will exempt anyone who is participating in indoor or outdoor physical activity, for sports or exercise.

In his latest directive to West Virginians, Justice kept a handful of orders that suspended regulations of local businesses and health care providers, which increased access to telemedicine and relaxed licensing requirements for nurses seeking work.

Justice said he’s also keeping an order that requires hospitals to be prepared for any surges in COVID-19 cases.

There will still be a “joint agency task force” for handling COVID-19 vaccination efforts, and employees for nursing homes will still have to test every other week.

In counties marked red on the state’s color-coded map for coronavirus spread, athletic teams will be barred from traveling into or out of these counties.

Vaccine Hesitancy and the Johnson and Johnson Pause

West Virginia still has not resumed distribution of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine since pausing that brand’s distribution on Wednesday, April 14.

West Virginia is still doling out shots from Pfizer and Moderna, which both received emergency use authorization from the federal government late last year.

Justice said Monday that the state has more shots than it has arms to put them in, suggesting supply is greater than demand.

State health officials requested that workplaces, high school sports teams, churches and other large organizations coordinate with the state to give out vaccines.

For places that were dependent on J&J doses — namely, correctional facilities — health leaders said Monday they’re still working on a plan to begin offering Moderna and Pfizer vaccines instead.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

W.Va. Again Breaks Record For Hospitalizations, New Daily Cases Of COVID-19

West Virginia has hit two more grim COVID-19 records.

On Saturday, there were more than 1,100 new cases of the coronavirus reported within a 24-hour period, and on Monday, more than 380 people were hospitalized with the potentially deadly virus. Both numbers are the highest ever in the state.

“I want us to get more control over this terrible virus that is just eating us alive. I want us to absolutely wear our mask,” Gov. Jim Justice said on Monday.

Justice announced during his latest virtual press briefing that West Virginia now has more than 10,300 active cases of COVID-19, meaning people who have yet to recover.

Of the hospital figure, 108 people are in an intensive care unit and 41 people are on ventilators.

On Friday, the governor issued a flurry of executive orders to slow the spread of the virus, including a tightened mandate for mask-wearing. Now, everyone over the age of 9 must wear masks inside all public buildings, at all times, even when social distancing can be achieved. The only exception is if someone is actively eating or drinking or has a legitimate breathing issue. Businesses are also expected to post signage and turn people away if they refuse to wear a mask.

Justice emphasized on Monday the need for everyone to wear masks. He did not name names, but he alluded to some pushback he’d received over the weekend from those opposed to wearing masks.

“What right do they have to infect others, or possibly infect others? What right do they have to just do that because that’s what they want to do?” Justice said. “Ninety-six percent of the people in West Virginia believe we ought to be wearing a mask. Without any question, I strongly urge us all to wear a mask.”

State officials are also urging West Virginians to take advantage of free testing offered throughout the state with emphasis on doing this ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Justice also applauded the recent news from Moderna announcing that its COVID-19 vaccine is 95 percent effective. This news comes on the heels of a recent announcement from Pfizer, which also saw promise from its experimental vaccine that showed a more than 90 percent effective rate.

Health officials say, however, it will still be months before a vaccine is approved and available to the public.

W.Va. Governor Issues Flurry Of Executive Orders Following Largest COVID Spike In State

After West Virginia broke its state record for daily coronavirus cases twice in one week, Gov. Jim Justice announced on Friday new rules for schools, sports, face masks and nursing home employees.

Justice said during a virtual press briefing that he’s expanding an executive order from July, now requiring that all individuals more than nine years old wear a face mask in enclosed, public spaces, even when social distancing is possible. All businesses must now post signs for customers, requiring masks before entry, and Justice said police officers can arrest patrons who don’t comply for obstruction of justice. Any establishment that fails to enforce the governor’s order risks closure.

“If you don’t step up, business owners, and make it mandatory when people are entering your businesses, we’re going to end up having to take further steps,” Justice said. “Because we will not be able to slow this thing down and stop it. The next steps will have to be closure.”

The only exceptions to the mandate are people with “legitimate breathing problems,” according to Justice, or those who are actively eating and drinking.

When West Virginia first began responding to the pandemic in March, Justice issued a lengthy “Stay at Home” order, which closed in-person dining, restricted large gatherings and limited in-person access to non-essential medical services. Justice began rescinding this order in April, through his “Safer at Home” plan. Unlike governors from other states, such as Oregon and Virginia, Justice is not closing businesses or restricting large gatherings at this time.

Additionally, Justice ordered that all in-person classes for public and private schools be closed from Thanksgiving through Wednesday, Dec. 2, to allow time for coronavirus testing. The governor said this does not apply to remote and virtual classes.

All winter sports are postponed until Jan. 11 while fall sports are allowed to finish their season, according to another order from Justice, and all school band festivals for spring are canceled.

Justice was one of several governors to expand existing orders and issue new ones Friday, as cases locally and nationally take a turn for the worse. While the country reported more than 163,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus Friday, West Virginia recorded more than 740 the same day, and more than 880 on Wednesday — the state’s highest number of new daily coronavirus cases since March.

The governor said there were 78 outbreaks in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities as of Friday. As a result, West Virginia employees working in these facilities are now required to be tested for the coronavirus twice every week, according to yet another executive order by Justice on Friday.

Justice and other state officials reminded West Virginians to take advantage of the free coronavirus testing throughout the state. He also encouraged West Virginians to remain vigilant as the nation inches closer to a potential vaccine. Pfizer on Monday announced its experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective.

“All of us are absolutely trying to do everything we can possibly do to keep life as close to normal,” Justice said. “We’ve got to make it to this vaccine, and we hope and pray the vaccine will be as successful as what is advertised.”

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported Friday morning more than 8,500 active cases of the coronavirus and 565 deaths.

New Nursing Home Order Takes Effect Tuesday, As State Tracks 31 Related Outbreaks

An executive order from West Virginia’s governor will take effect Tuesday morning, adding some flexibility for nursing home visitations as the state continues monitoring more than 30 outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

West Virginians will follow the same color-coded map the state rolled out for schools on Aug. 14, to determine whether it’s safe or not for them to visit a nursing home, Gov. Jim Justice said on Monday.

His new order rescinds an Aug. 12 order, which temporarily barred people from visiting residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The color-coded map is assembled based on the active COVID-19 cases per population and it’s designed to monitor the severity of community spread. The Department of Health and Human Resources has modified the map twice since its introduction almost two weeks ago.

Counties in green and yellow will allow in-person visits to long-term care facilities by appointment only, with certain restrictions on age and location, according to the DHHR’s reopening plan from Aug. 20.

Counties in orange and red will only allow visits for compassionate care.

The color-coded system additionally creates restrictions to communal dining, group activities and rules for nonessential personnel. In all counties, staff are responsible for screening residents daily.

“I urge everyone to contact your local nursing home and arrange for those visits during those pandemics,” DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch said Monday.

Logan was the only red county Monday afternoon, and Monroe was the only county in orange. The state has reported active outbreaks at nursing homes in both communities, in addition to Grant, Kanawha, Mercer, Raleigh and Taylor counties.

CEO Marty Wright for the West Virginia Health Care Association, a trade group representing most of West Virginia’s long-term care facilities, said Monday that greater community spread and longer lags in testing results are what’s driving the increase in nursing home outbreaks.

“What we’ve seen is that asymptomatic spread has presented a challenge across the board,” Wright said. “It gets into a facility and no one knows it.”

For the Springfield Center in Monroe County, where CEO Larry Pack said Monday roughly 30 out of 50 patients have tested positive since last week, the outbreak began with one employee testing positive.

“If we have one positive employee, or one positive patient, we test every employee and every patient in the center,” said Pack, who runs 17 West Virginia nursing homes through Stonerise Healthcare.

About 25 employees at Springfield also have tested positive since last week. Pack said all staff and patients in Monroe County will be tested weekly until everyone tests negative.

Weekly testing is the protocol for all West Virginia nursing homes experiencing an outbreak. However, the process has become more difficult as the need for testing resources grows in schools, correctional centers and other places, according to Wright.

Nationally, there’s a push to offer more antigen testing in long-term care facilities just because the tests are easier to process. Unfortunately, Wright said, there’s still debate as to whether antigen results are as accurate as the more common PCR testing.

“There is the concern, whether or not it has a significant enough sensitivity to allow for it to be used,” Wright said.

So far, the West Virginia Health Care Association reports two West Virginia facilities have received equipment for antigen testing.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

Gov. Justice Issues Executive Order For 3 Eastern Panhandle Counties After COVID-19 Cluster Found

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has issued an executive order specific to three Eastern Panhandle counties following the discovery of a cluster of confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The governor announced the new regulations in a news release issued Friday evening.

The directive — specific to Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties — limits group gatherings to five people, directs all businesses to require employees to work from home as much as possible and calls on local health departments to establish a maximum occupancy and proper social distance for all essential businesses.

Those health departments will be allowed to take action to enforce regulations under the governor’s order.

The West Virginia National Guard has been directed to provide logistical support and services to county agencies. State Police have also been directed to assist with the enforcement of local county orders.

Friday’s executive order comes hours after a news conference in which Justice and state health officials announced the discovery a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Panhandle. Justice and state health officials provided little detail about the cluster.

The order is in addition to a statewide stay at home directive that was issued Tuesday, March 24.

Berkeley County Health Department administrator Bill Kearns told West Virginia Public Broadcasting Friday evening that the county is reporting 45 confirmed cases of the virus and that the number is “rapidly increasing” day to day.

“In Berkeley County within the last week, I would say we’re seeing an estimate of probably about between 20 to 30 percent increase each day,” Kerns added.

As of Friday, DHHR is reporting 37 cases in the county — but has said they are now updating their count daily at 10 a.m.

Kerns said he welcomes the executive order and the help from state agencies. He said there have been growing concerns in the area about whether some businesses are operating when they shouldn’t be.

“We’ve had some complaints from people within the community about some establishments are closed but not others,” Kearns said. “Those establishments are feeling that they’re essential — such as department stores. So certainly we’re going to be looking at those as to whether they actually are truly essential services within the counties and what direction we need to go.”

Kearns said local officials will also be looking closely at how to implement maximum occupancies for each business that is deemed essential.

While Justice and other officials were not specific earlier Friday on the exact location of the new outbreak, the governor said 60 positive cases had been confirmed between Berkeley and Jefferson counties.

State health officer Dr. Cathy Slemp said the growing numbers in the Eastern Panhandle are not tied to “one facility or entity” and that the spread of the virus is throughout that region of the state.

But in an email to staff and parents of school children of Berkeley County Schools dated Wednesday, April 1, Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy relayed information from the Berkeley-Morgan County Board of Health that indicates that the coronavirus has been detected in some residents associated with the local school system.

“COVID-19 is present in Berkeley County with a rapid daily increase in the number of people with this infection,” Berkeley County health officer Dr. Terrence Reidy wrote. “Infection has been identified in a few individuals who are associated with the school system. This has been expected since students, employees and volunteers are as likely as everyone else to be infected.”

It is unclear to what degree identified positive cases in the school system have affected the cluster and the spread of the virus.

Justice also announced Friday evening that President Donald Trump has granted West Virginia a federal disaster declaration.

The declaration makes available funding to the state and eligible local governments, as well as certain private non-profit organizations. The funding would provide for emergency protective measures including direct federal assistance in all areas of West Virginia impacted by COVID-19.

Gov. Justice Issues 3rd Order Targeting Regulation

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has issued a third executive order targeting state regulations.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Republican signed an executive order on Monday to expedite permit processes for industry, business and economic development projects. Justice says the goal is to speed up economic development by backing off overregulation and providing security for job creators.

The West Virginia Development Office will have 45 days to decide whether a project is of critical economic concern, which would require agencies to prioritize it.

West Virginia Rivers Coalition Executive Director Angie Rosser said the streamlined process could have “dire” environmental and public health consequences, as it could cut out public input and lead to unfair prioritization.

Justice says his orders are responsible for repealing 60 percent of the code of state rules.