The West Virginia Department of Education says marching bands can begin practicing, but daylong camps will not be allowed. Bands are allowed to rehearse in three-hour increments, in groups of no more than ten students.
Governor Justice is giving the green light to fall sports. High school athletes can begin practicing in August. The football season will be shortened by a week. The first games won’t start until September 3rd.
Dr. Ayne Amjad is the new State Health Officer and Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health. She replaces Dr. Kathy Slemp who was forced to resign last month. Amjad has been in private practice in Beckley, Oak Hill, and Princeton since 2010.
There are nearly 160 new COVID-19 cases statewide, bringing the total to almost four-thousand. The number of active cases is over one-thousand. Coronavirus Czar, Dr. Clay Marsh, says West Virginia has the highest “Rt value” in the country, which means the virus is spreading from person-to-person faster than in any other state in the country.
Governor Justice is threatening to close bars and eliminate indoor dining in Monongalia County if COVID-19 numbers don’t improve. The County Health Department is reporting a 60-percent increase in active cases in the past two weeks.
A coalition of groups, from Black Lives Matter to West Virginia Free, sent a letter to Governor Jim Justice and the Capitol Building Commission, calling for the removal of the statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from the Capitol grounds. Justice says it will take legislative action for the statue to come down.
Four teenagers crashed their ATV in the Hernshaw area. The driver hit a curve on a gravel road near Lens Creek and lost control when the ATV rolled over. Two of the teenagers were taken to a local hospital, and are expected to be okay.
The body of a man found in the Ohio River earlier this week has been identified. The Boyd County Coroner’s Office says the man was 41-year-old Mitchell Dean of Huntington. His mother reported him missing five-days ago. His body was found near Catlettsburg.
Two fire departments responded to a house fire in Eskdale. A house on Curry Hill Drive near Cove Road caught fire. The East Bank and Cabin Creek volunteer fire departments were able to get the blaze under control. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
A New Boston, Ohio, couple has been charged with the death of their five-year-old granddaughter. The little girl had multiple injuries and bruising on her body and head that were consistent with physical abuse. Richard and Sonya Greene are charged with aggravated murder.