Justice announces new restrictions for state employees over COVID-19 concerns

Mar. 12--Charleston -- Because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday he is halting out-of-state and international travel for all state employees for government purposes and directing state government offices to avoid holding any large meetings or gatherings.

Justice also said he is asking state employees to reconsider non-essential travel out of state, and is recommending all who are at risk of complications -- seniors and those with chronic health problems -- avoid large crowds, especially places that don't have good ventilation. He also discouraged other large gatherings.

"With that I would tell you, we should still continue to live our lives, but we need to really be smart," he said.

Bill Crouch, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet secretary, said officials would likely evaluate whether the state employee travel ban is still needed in three to four weeks.

Justice said his decision was based on President Donald Trump's announcement Wednesday night that he was banning many foreign travelers from Europe for the next 30 days.

The governor emphasized multiple times that the state lacks any reported cases, as of now, even going so far as to say "without any question, right as we speak our state does not have one case."

But the state has only tested eight people and only became capable of testing over the weekend. Some people with the virus may not yet display symptoms and some may not seek testing.

West Virginia is one of just three states with no reported cases. All surrounding states have reported cases.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic Wednesday. As of Thursday, there were 1,215 cases in the United States, with 366 in Washington state and 217 in New York state, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported 36 deaths. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

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Justice also said he was asking nursing homes to restrict visitors, except if the person in nursing home care has a life-ending or very serious illness.

Earlier this week, the West Virginia Health Care Association, a trade group representing assisted living facilities and nursing homes, announced members were "evaluating" whether to restrict visitors, following deaths from exposure to COVID-19 at a nursing home in Washington state. Older people appear more susceptible to worse outcomes when they contract the disease.

Thursday, Kim Adkins, director of nursing at Main Street Care in Hinton, said they have already been restricting visitors to the intermediate care facility for seniors since March 3, except in case where the person's condition is declining. She said they had implemented that measure primarily due to flu season, then kept it in place over COVID-19. No patients have been exposed to or have contracted COVID-19, she said.

She noted that since the center is on the third floor of a hospital, seniors in their care are closer to sick people, and she said many seniors in their care have chronic underlying conditions.

"We basically just want everyone to know we're simply trying to protect our residents," she said.

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Some school districts nationwide have closed.

West Virginia officials have not closed K-12 schools, although West Virginia University and Marshall University have announced they were transitioning to online classes after spring breaks.

Dr. Cathy Slemp, commissioner of DHHR's Bureau for Public Health, noted Wednesday that children appear to be at low risk for the virus, that some parents lack child care, and that some children lack food at home, and said that school closing determinations should be made on a school-by-school basis.

"This changed in the last 24 hours in a big way," Justice said Thursday. "I mean really and truly If it changes again in the next 24 hours in a big way, we're probably looking at shutting the schools down."

Slemp, meanwhile, said Thursday that "the risk today is not dramatically different than the risk yesterday."

"The testing is an issue nationally that we've had a challenge with," she said. "We know it's around us."

She said the flu also typically hits the state later because of its rural nature.

"We're going to see a case," she said. "We're not going to be surprised by that. It's not going to -- again ... there's not a dramatic change in that risk."

When West Virginia does report a case, that won't mean risk has changed, she said.

"Remember that 80 percent of people get through this without serious complications," she said. "They can take care of themselves at home."

Slemp said companies are working to begin testing for COVID-19 at private labs.

Officials encouraged hand washing and avoiding hand-shaking.

Slemp also encouraged "social distancing," meaning maintaining six feet distance from others during social contact. She also talked about being "creative" -- thinking about things like putting seats farther apart at gatherings, going shopping at less-busy times, or scheduling conference calls.

At schools, that might mean canceling pep rallies or staggering recess, she said.

"I believe in the creativity of West Virginians," she said.

People who lack health insurance can still access health care at low or no cost at federally qualified health centers in the state, Slemp noted. Those locations can be found at https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/.

She also noted that more West Virginians are covered by health insurance due to the expansion of Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act.

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In a phone call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., noted that major health insurers have agreed to waive co-pays for the tests.

People may still be faced with other costs, including the cost of treatment.

Capito said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, had just canceled a planned one-week recess for senators so the chamber could stay in Washington and work on legislation.

"We're going to be on Capitol Hill here trying to figure out either a health or economic stimulus package that we need to move forward on," Capito said.

In response to a question about paid sick leave for affected workers, Capito said she could support such assistance.

"I think we're looking at an area for some temporary help here in conjunction with the state," she said. "Certainly if you're in a small business and you don't have the availability of sick leave and you're possibly contaminated or you're showing signs, and we're telling you as your leaders and the health officials are telling you you need to go home and stay home, then I think they ought to have availability of paid sick leave to replace that, because it's not just your best interest, it's in the best interest of everybody.

"And so we're working through that right now," Capito said. "I'm not sure what kind of form that will take, but making up for those who don't have paid sick leave is definitely on the front burner."

National news outlets have reported that Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for paid sick leave, among other measures.

Capito also said she supports additional funding for the Small Business Administration to provide loans to small business in affected areas and "streamlined applications" for small business assistance.

"Let's just take for instance the hotels in Charleston because the basketball tournaments are canceled," she said. "That's a big hit, but it's not so much the hotel. It's the cab driver, the restaurant, the mall. These are the folks that are going to get hurt first that don't have availability of leave, some of them are part-time workers, so I'm concerned about that."

Email: ebeck@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @3littleredbones

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