Colleges’ COVID-19 testing strategy varies

July 27, 2020

BOSTON — For students heading to Colby College in Maine this fall, coronavirus testing is expected to be a routine part of campus life. All students will be required to provide a nasal swab every other day for two weeks, and then twice a week after that. All told, the college says it will provide 85,000 tests, nearly as many as the entire state of Maine has since the pandemic started. Colby, a private school of 2,000 students, joins a growing number of colleges announcing aggressive testing plans to catch and isolate COVID-19 cases before they spread. Harvard University says all ...

July 27: Events canceled/postponed due to coronavirus

July 27, 2020

Due to the precautions being taken surrounding the coronavirus, the following changes have been made regarding events and meetings in the local area: ¯ The 2020 Ohio River Sweep has been postponed to 2021, and the date will be determined. ¯ The annual Teddy Bear Tea held in July at Mary H. Weir Public Library has been canceled. It will resume in July 2021. ¯ Mingo Community Days, normally held each July, has been canceled. ¯ The 203rd annual on-site Hollow Rock Campmeeting for July has been canceled. ¯ The 50th-annual Covered Bridge Festival that had been scheduled for ...

July 25: Events canceled/postponed due to coronavirus

July 25, 2020

Due to the precautions being taken surrounding the coronavirus, the following changes have been made regarding events and meetings in the local area: ¯ The 2020 Ohio River Sweep has been postponed to 2021, and the date will be determined. ¯ The annual Teddy Bear Tea held in July at Mary H. Weir Public Library has been canceled. It will resume in July 2021. ¯ Mingo Community Days, normally held each July, has been canceled. ¯ The 203rd annual on-site Hollow Rock Campmeeting for July has been canceled. ¯ The 50th-annual Covered Bridge Festival that had been scheduled for ...

Justice: West Virginia coronavirus numbers are encouraging

July 23, 2020

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was encouraged Wednesday by a recent drop in confirmed statewide cases of the coronavirus but said it’s too early to tell whether a face mask mandate is the primary reason. The number of positive cases in the state has doubled in the past month to more than 5,200. Twice this month the daily confirmed cases in the rural state surpassed 170. Tuesday’s increase of 30 positive cases was the lowest since June 28. And Wednesday’s number of active confirmed cases was down 6 percent from Monday, which was the highest since the pandemic ...

Volunteer fire departments to get funding for personal protective equipment

July 23, 2020

CHARLESTON — Addressing concerns raised by first responders across the state over lack of access to personal protective equipment, Gov. Jim Justice announced funding for all 419 volunteer fire departments in West Virginia. “Some of the people that have been really hurting here are our volunteer fire departments,” Justice said. “We’ve been trying to figure out what we can do.” Speaking during his Wednesday coronavirus briefing at the Capitol, Justice said each volunteer department in the state would receive $10,000 through a grant program. The funding is meant to make ...

Manchin skeptical of Sept. 8 start date for West Virginia schools

July 23, 2020

A Sept. 8 school reopening might be a challenge without a vaccine for the coronavirus, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said Wednesday. “So you better have Plan B ready to go,” Manchin, D-W.Va., added. The health and safety of students and school personnel is the major consideration, said ...