Gov. Justice says COVID running rampant in W.Va., urges more vaccinations

Saying the coronavirus is running rampant through West Virginia with no end in sight, Gov. Jim Justice pleaded Friday with more residents to get vaccinated before it’s too late.

“We’ve lost 38 people since Wednesday,” Justice said during his coronavirus briefing on Friday. “We are going to continue to lose people in this surge without any question, and it just brings a level of sadness over all of us.”

Justice said vaccinations are the only tool in the toolbox to fight the virus as he listed some of the grim statistics – 816 hospitalized (two shy of the pandemic record), a record 252 in intensive care and a record 141 on a ventilator.

Active cases have climbed to 24,532. West Virginia’s death total during the pandemic is now at 3,207.

The governor said 51 of 55 county school systems in the state now have a mask mandate for kids in grades kindergarten through 12th grade or some type of criteria for masks. He said there are currently only four counties with no mask requirement – Putnam, Pocahontas, Ohio and Mingo.

Justice said he is absolutely against mandates, and he has tried with all that is in him to let local school districts make the mask decisions. If he had mandated from day one when it came to schools, there would have been division all across the state, Justice said. He said it was a “no brainer” and the state is “absolutely going to end up with all 55 counties (with mask requirements), and the sooner we get there the better.”

While he said 4,800 more people have been vaccinated since his last briefing on Wednesday, he said that is not enough. The state now has 73.4% of its population 12 years and older who are eligible for the vaccine get at least one shot.

Still, he said West Virginia is lagging and more people are going to die if those vaccination numbers don’t go up.

“Going unvaccinated is really making a big mistake,” the governor said.

Justice mentioned more young people need to get vaccinated, and he pointed to the Do It For Babydog vaccine incentive sweepstakes as something the state is doing to encourage more younger people to get shots. The latest winners were announced on Thursday.

The governor said vaccines have been a part of everyone’s lives since they were children, and he said this vaccine is safe and the only way to stop the deadly killer that is ravaging West Virginia.

As far as outbreaks, Justice said, there are 72 virus outbreaks at long-term care facilities and four outbreaks at churches. Corrections has 159 inmates with active cases and 71 staff members with active cases.