The Fairmont Regional Medical Center is shutting down ahead of schedule and will cease operations over the next several days. Hospital officials said on Feb. 18 that the facility would close within 60 days. The letter comes after last week’s announcement that West Virginia University Medicine would take over portions of the facility while constructing … Read more
West Virginia has its first case of the coronavirus. The person who tested positive lives in the Eastern Panhandle. As of Tuesday evening the state lab has had 122 negative results and 14 pending. There has been one confirmed case of the coronavirus. State health officials previously said they believed the coronavirus was already here … Read more
Many grocery stores are closing early to allow employees to clean and re-stock store shelves. Dollar General plans to dedicate the first hour of each day to senior shoppers who more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
Kanawha County school buses are delivering meals to their regular bus stops while schools are closed. Eight highs schools are serving as food prep sites, and bagged lunches are available beginning at 10:30. The buses will also deliver food to elementary and middle schools that will be available between eleven and noon.
Charleston City Council passed an over 99-million-dollar budget for 2021-2022 during a teleconference-only public meeting. City employees will move to PEIA insurance, and receive a two-thousand-dollar raise. And home demolition funding will increase over 30-percent to fight ongoing housing blight.
Kanawha County has opened an Emergency Operations Center to respond to the widening coronavirus situation. It’s located at Metro 911. The City of Charleston is moving to essential personnel only. City offices, public event facilities and community and rec centers will have limited public access.
More than half of West Virginians are considered high risk for getting the coronavirus. A Kaiser Family Foundation report calculates that over 51-percnet of the state’s population is at high risk. The factors include those ho have diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and are over 60-years old.
Hospitals are changing their day-to-day operations because of the coronavirus. Some doctors are postposing surgeries. Thomas Memorial and Saint Francis Hospital are screening visitors at the entrance and taking their temperatures.
West Virginia still has no confirmed cases of the COVD-19. Eighty tests have come back negative and four cases are pending. DHHR is aiming for a one or two day turnaround for the test. The majority of people being tested currently are seriously ill in the hospital, or have been exposed to the virus.
Governor Jim Justice is declaring a state of emergency for all 55-counties in West Virginia due to the coronavirus outbreak. The executive allows the governor to suspend certain laws and side-step normal purchasing and hiring rules. Justice is not closing restaurants and bars.