'Be afraid West Virginia and be concerned,' Gov. Justice says of COVID-19 dangers

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS / WVAH) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, citing the state’s rising coronavirus numbers and related deaths, pleaded with people to wear their masks and to practice social distancing.

“Be afraid West Virginia and be concerned,” Justice said during a news conference Friday. “Don’t be fearful, but for crying out loud you’ve got to have enough afraid or fear in you of the consequences that can happen here. You’ve got to stay on your game and not back off.”

The governor said the state’s death total associated with the virus has now reached 116. Thirteen of those deaths have occurred just this week. He said the state has had 182 positive cases – a record high – but he noted the state is testing more. Active cases are up to 1,712, up from 1,647 since Monday.

Hospitalizations have risen to a total of 102, up from 94 on Monday. He said that is moving 10 percent a day, and although still well under capacity, it’s not good. The governor said they continue to keep a close eye on Kanawha County, which he said has had its active cases grow from 254 Monday to 270.

The state’s R-naught – the measurement of how much the virus can spread from a single person – is now at 1.00. Justice said this is an improvement over when the state had the highest number in the nation, but it is still not as good as the period when West Virginia’s number fell below 1.00.

“Life is too precious for me to sit here and to read of West Virginians we have lost. Please West Virginia, I’m pleading with you - wear your mask and wash your hands,” he said.

The governor cited Kentucky as an example of how dire things could become, saying the virus there has shut down the state’s “universe.” He expressed concern about cases migrating from the south and spreading into the state. Justice pointed to jumps in cases in Logan County, which he said had 20 cases on Thursday. He said if that were to be multiplied across 55 counties, it could have severe consequences.

Justice said there are COVID-19 outbreaks among churches in Mason, Grant, Logan and Taylor counties as of Friday morning. There are a total of 87 COVID-19 cases between those counties.

In other matters, the governor mentioned a U.S. Treasury report that he said listed West Virginia as fourth in the country in getting CARES Act money out to people and expending the funds. He said West Virginia trailed only California, Colorado and New York. He said it doesn’t mean the state has spent all of the more than $1.2 billion it had received, but it shows the state is doing a good job.

The governor’s remarks about the report follow criticism that surfaced earlier this week from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who claimed that Justice is using the CARES Act money as a “political slush fund.’ Justice responded previously to Manchin’s comments, calling them grandstanding and a lie.