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PARKERSBURG -- Over the weekend, four new positive COVID 19 cases were reported to the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department as of Sunday.
This brings the total to 13 cases in Wood County, officials said in a press release.
The MOVHD response team previously reported two cases in Roane County and one in Pleasants and Wirt counties. No new cases have been reported in those counties.
Currently there are no known cases in Calhoun or Ritchie counties.
On Saturday night, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced he was signing an Executive Order for Monongalia, Harrison and Kanawha counties as COVID-19 continues to spread. This executive order expands the order issued Friday evening for Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties.
"Right now, 38 percent of the COVID-19 positive cases in West Virginia are in these three counties," Gov. Justice said. "If you add in Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, its 62 percent of all the positive cases in our state.
"I have been monitoring this situation all day and decided to take this action tonight after my medical experts advised me that these counties are the next areas where community clusters may soon develop. The additional measures I took yesterday for the Eastern Panhandle need to be applied to these counties as well. Today, we had reports of crowds at stores with the nice spring weather, but to stop the spread of COVID-19 we MUST stay at home as much as possible and we MUST remember to socially distance when we go out for necessities. The stay-at-home order and the guidelines by our medical experts need to be taken very seriously at this time.
"Again, I am going to continue to do everything in my power to protect the health and safety of all West Virginians."
The Order expands to Monongalia, Harrison and Kanawha counties and gives broad authority to their local health departments.
Provisions of the executive order include:
* Limiting groups to a maximum of five people.
* Directing all businesses to require employees to work from home to the maximum extent possible.
* Directing the Local Health Departments to establish the maximum occupancy of and proper social distance within essential businesses and taking action to enforce these health regulations.
* Directing the West Virginia National Guard to provide logistical support and services to assist county agencies.
* Directing the West Virginia State Police to assist with enforcement of local county orders.
The Governor has directed his medical experts to continue to work with local health departments throughout West Virginia to ensure each county has the tools they need to best respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone that has been tested for COVID-19 should self-quarantine until results are received to avoid taking chances of spreading the virus.
Health officials are telling people to avoid people who are obviously sick, coughing and sneezing to prevent others from getting the new coronavirus.
Recent studies show that symptoms may not show up until 48 hours after being infected and up to 25 percent of those infected may not exhibit symptoms.
Both groups may be "silent spreaders" of the virus, officials said.
It is important to heed the Governor'sstay at home order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, they added.
If people must go out, they are advised to use every precaution: physical distancing of at least six feet away when standing in line for groceries and take out, washing hands with warm soapy water for at least
20 seconds and being aware of surfaces that may have germs.
Information about what to do if exposed to COVID-19 and other items can be accessed at movhd.com, cdc.gov (COVID banner) or wv.gov (COVID-19 tab).
Operators are available 24/7 at the toll-free West Virginia Coronavirus hotline at 1-800-887-4304 to provide accurate information about COVID-19, the risk to the public, and the state's response. The state's website on situation is Coronavirus.wv.gov.