Gov. Jim Justice said this week that he may reconsider his decision not to mandate masks in the state’s public schools, if cases of the coronavirus continue to surge higher. He has urged people to get vaccinated as case numbers and hospitalizations increase. Outbreaks have slipped back into long-term care facilities and churches, too, with 30 current positive cases among residents at a residential facility in Fayette County and 12 at another in Putnam County. And there are 13 outbreaks involving churches in 12 counties.
West Virginia is starting the school year with in-person learning in all 55 counties.