West Virginia has a message to people fleeing parts of the country where the pandemic is the worst: Don’t come here, and if you do, you must self-quarantine.
Governor Justice has issued an executive order putting limitations on travel into West Virginia for the foreseeable future as another step to try to keep the pandemic from getting out of control here. (Read more from Brad McElhinny here.)
The Governor’s order says that anyone who comes here from a high risk area must self-quarantine for two weeks. Normal interstate travel for essential services is excluded.
He also promised the State Police will enforce the restriction although, frankly, that’s not going to be easy. It is more likely that Justice is counting on voluntary compliance, although he did not rule out the State Police confronting a “pandemic tourist,” ordering them to quarantine and charging them with obstruction of justice if they refuse.
Justice has also ordered state park campgrounds to close and he’s shut down the overlooks at Black Water Falls and Coopers Rock State Forest, so people won’t be able to congregate at those popular destinations.
These additional steps come as West Virginia tries to stay ahead of the pandemic. The number of cases continues to increase daily, but not at an exponential rate. “We’re trending the right way,” Justice said at Monday’s briefing. “Please stay the course.”
Justice also encouraged West Virginians to take more responsibility for discouraging and even breaking up social gatherings. “Somebody needs to speak up,” Justice said. “Somebody needs to be the adult in the room.”
Also, officials are putting more emphasis on individuals following the guidelines to protect front-line healthcare workers. These doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals are facing daily risks of infection and even death.
“They are the people that run to the fire,” Justice said. “We need to appreciate the healthcare community… we’ve got to preserve that healthcare community.”
West Virginia’s COVID-19 Czar Dr. Clay Marsh agrees, and he challenged the state’s residents to continue to take personal responsibility to protect healthcare workers, as well as each other.
“They (the healthcare workers) are the heroes of today,” he said.
He’s right. The doctors and nurses are the people we run to when we get sick, and we always expect them to be there 24/7. The best way for individuals to guarantee that our hospitals and clinics can remain fully staffed and properly equipped during this pandemic is to follow the guidelines, set an example for others, and yes, even encourage others to do the same.
As Justice said, “Be the adult in the room.”