CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There are plenty of rumors floating around about what is happening around West Virginia during the COVID-19 outbreak and Gov. Jim Justice wants to set the record straight.
Justice squelched much of the gossip during his Friday press briefing, calling any false statements “silly” and “shameful.”
“If you don’t know something to be absolutely the truth and if you are questioning something, call someone to make sure. let’s stop with the rumors because they hurt people,” Justice said.
During the briefing and later in a tweet, Justice stated the following about rumors:
– Our West Virginia State Police are not stopping traffic at our borders.
– The State Police are not pulling over vehicles just because they have out-of-state plates.
– The West Virginia National Guard is not being used to enforce a lockdown.
– There is no curfew.
– There is no national quarantine.
West Virginia is currently under a stay-at-home order but does allow for essential travel and essential businesses to remain open.
Justice said to review the order carefully and continue to follow the Center for Disease Control guidelines through this health crisis.
“It is extremely important that you continue to follow the guidelines and stay at home as much as possible, but these lies are targeting the very people who are trying to help: our first responders, our National Guard, our health care workers,” Gov. Justice said.
State Adjutant General Jim Hoyer addressed a situation where he said flyers on cars and in the mail state that the Stafford Act is in effect.
“Talks about FEMA invoking the Stafford Act and mobilizing the National Guard nationwide, I want to let folks know that information is both false and inappropriate,” he said.
Hoyer said anyone with questions and concerns about what the National Guard is doing in West Virginia to look at the guard’s social media pages.
“We try to be upfront with all the citizens with all the work we are doing across West Virginia on this situation.”