CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice said the state is still “a few weeks out” as far as the possibility of calling all state workers back to work.
During his daily COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, Justice said his administration is continuing to watch the numbers and talking with health officials on what is best since being shutdown since mid-March.
“We’ve all got to realize that we are dealing with something here that no one has dealt with before. We are dealing with a pandemic that is a killer. We are going to have to adjust, we are going to have to change the rules of the game,” Justice said.
Secretary of Administration Allan McVey previously told MetroNews that each department has had a different plan based on the number of essential and non-essential employees working, sending some home. But that was before the stay-at-home and safer-at-home orders went into effect, forcing everyone to work from home.
Justice said if work is getting done then why not stay at home longer to be cautious.
“As far as the possibility of working from home and matching the social distancing and all that together, I am completely open to that,” he said.
No state workers have been laid off or furloughed during the pandemic despite projections of a $500 million state budget shortfall this fiscal year.