CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly a month after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in West Virginia only a few Mountain State counties still had case numbers at zero.
As of Wednesday morning, the state Department of Health and Human Resources was reporting no confirmed cases of the respiratory illness the novel coronavirus causes in seven counties: Ritchie, Doddridge, Gilmer, Calhoun, Clay, Pocahontas and Webster.
Statewide, case numbers were above 700 at that time.
“It’s a terrible pandemic and we are just trying to protect our community and our county and doing the best we can,” said Crystal Moran, nurse administrator for the Webster County Health Department.
Two COVID-19 testing sites were available in Webster County for people meeting testing criteria at Webster County Memorial Hospital and Camden-on-Gauley Medical Center.
At many Webster County businesses, Moran said preventative steps to try to limit any coronavirus spread were implemented weeks ago.
“They actually put things into place without even getting those guidelines (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). They kind of did it on their own which was excellent,” Moran said.
Confirmed cases involve people who have been specifically tested for COVID-19.
The symptoms of the virus include cough, fever and difficulty breathing but health officials have repeatedly said someone with it could exhibit only mild symptoms or show no symptoms at all.
Overall, “We’re just continuing our protective measures in all the areas that we can, the best we can,” Moran said.
“There’s always need for hand sanitizer and different things like that in the community and we’re just doing our best to see that our facilities get what they need.”