A year of COVID-19 in the Mid-Ohio Valley
Parkersburg Municipal Building maintenance worker Westley Lockhart cleaned the handles of the doors to City Council chambers on March 13, 2020, as officials in Parkersburg and other municipalities were grappling with how to respond to the burgeoning pandemic. (File Photo)
The parking lot at Grand Central Mall in Vienna was mostly empty on April 10, 2020,more than two weeks after it temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo)
Parkersburg City Council met in its chambers for the first time in more than a month on June 2, 2020, and approved the final reading of an ordinance creating a $500 B&O tax exemption to assist businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo)
Mark McDonald met his daughter, third-grader Natilye McDonald, across from Neale School in Vienna at the end of the first day of school for Wood County on Sept. 8, 2020. (File Photo)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stepped onto the tarmac of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport in Wood County to speak with Southeast Ohio residents about the coronavirus on Oct. 16, 2020. (File Photo)
St. Marys tight end Jayson Clayton was tackled by a pair of Pendleton County defenders in a Nov. 28, 2020, Class A playoff game in Pleasants County that turned out to be the season finale. St. Marys was crowned the state champion after Ritchie County was unable to play in the title game because the county was red on the state’s COVID-19 map. (File Photo)
A total of 210 free COVID tests were administered during a Dec. 1, 2020, free testing event at South Parkersburg Baptist Church. (File Photo)
WVU Medicine Camden Clark’s Emergency Department Director Brian Richardson received the first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Parkersburg from health manager Elizabeth Bennett on Dec. 15, 2020. (File Photo)
Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department volunteer Ed Goe spoke with people arriving for COVID-19 vaccinations Jan. 10 at the West Virginia Army National Guard Armory Readiness Center near Williamstown. (File Photo)
Parkersburg Municipal Building maintenance worker Westley Lockhart cleaned the handles of the doors to City Council chambers on March 13, 2020, as officials in Parkersburg and other municipalities were grappling with how to respond to the burgeoning pandemic. (File Photo)
The parking lot at Grand Central Mall in Vienna was mostly empty on April 10, 2020,more than two weeks after it temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo)
Parkersburg City Council met in its chambers for the first time in more than a month on June 2, 2020, and approved the final reading of an ordinance creating a $500 B&O tax exemption to assist businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo)
Mark McDonald met his daughter, third-grader Natilye McDonald, across from Neale School in Vienna at the end of the first day of school for Wood County on Sept. 8, 2020. (File Photo)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stepped onto the tarmac of the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport in Wood County to speak with Southeast Ohio residents about the coronavirus on Oct. 16, 2020. (File Photo)
St. Marys tight end Jayson Clayton was tackled by a pair of Pendleton County defenders in a Nov. 28, 2020, Class A playoff game in Pleasants County that turned out to be the season finale. St. Marys was crowned the state champion after Ritchie County was unable to play in the title game because the county was red on the state’s COVID-19 map. (File Photo)
A total of 210 free COVID tests were administered during a Dec. 1, 2020, free testing event at South Parkersburg Baptist Church. (File Photo)
WVU Medicine Camden Clark’s Emergency Department Director Brian Richardson received the first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Parkersburg from health manager Elizabeth Bennett on Dec. 15, 2020. (File Photo)
Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department volunteer Ed Goe spoke with people arriving for COVID-19 vaccinations Jan. 10 at the West Virginia Army National Guard Armory Readiness Center near Williamstown. (File Photo)
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PARKERSBURG -- A year ago Friday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice called off the state high school basketball tournament in the midst of the girls' bracket, while his Buckeye State counterpart announced schools would close until at least April and banned mass gatherings of 100 or more people.
They were the first of many changes as the Mid-Ohio Valley began to prepare for the arrival of the novel coronavirus.
March 13
* All West Virginia schools indefinitely close at the end of the day.
* Memorial Health System and WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center prohibit visitors.
March 15
* Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announces all bars and restaurants will close as of 9 p.m.
March 17
* West Virginia is the last state to record a positive coronavirus test.
* Justice orders the closures of all restaurants and bars, though carryout, curbside service and deliveries are still allowed.
March 18
* All West Virginia gyms and recreation facilities are closed.
March 19
* West Virginia barbershops and hair and nail salons are ordered closed.
March 20
* The first positive case is reported in Jackson County.
March 23
* Justice announces a stay-at-home order closing non-essential businesses, to go into effect at 8 p.m. the following day.
* A 50-year-old Marietta woman is the first person in Washington County to test positive for COVID-19.
* Parkersburg city buildings are closed to the public, all non-essential employees are placed on paid leave and the toll to cross the Memorial Bridge is suspended.
* Hino Motors Manufacturing USA shuts down production. Work does not resume until June.
March 24
* First positive case is reported in Wood County.
* A Highmark West Virginia spokeswoman says most of the nearly 450 employees at the company's downtown Parkersburg office are working from home.
March 25
* The Wood County Commission closes the courthouse, although business can still be conducted by phone, email or in person with an appointment.
March 26
* A spokesman for the federal Bureau of the Fiscal Service says all eligible employees at its Parkersburg offices are working remotely.
March 27
* First case is reported in Pleasants County.
March 28
* First cases are reported in Roane and Wirt counties.
April 1
* A Jackson County resident is the second confirmed COVID-19 fatality in West Virginia.
April 10
* The first confirmed COVID-19 fatality in Washington County is a man in his 70s.
April 11
* Marietta-Belpre Health Commissioner Anne Goon confirms 25 of Washington County's 36 positive cases are at the Heartland of Marietta nursing facility in Devola.
April 17
* An 85-year-old woman is the first Wood County resident to die from COVID-19.
April 19
* Eldercare Health and Rehabilitation in Ripley confirms two residents died of COVID-19. Fifty-nine tested positive.
April 21
* Justice announces West Virginia schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
April 28
* A day after announcing masks and facial coverings would be required as businesses in Ohio reopen, DeWine changed it to a recommendation.
May 3
* First positive case is reported in Ritchie County.
May 4
* West Virginia's Safer at Home order goes into effect, strongly encouraging people to stay home unless performing essential activities but no longer requiring it.
* Gatherings are limited to 25 people.
* Small businesses with less than 10 employees, outdoor dining, houses of worship, hair and nail salons and dog groomers are allowed to reopen in West Virginia.
May 15
* Outdoor dining is allowed to resume at restaurants in Ohio.
May 16
* First case reported in Calhoun County.
May 18
* Parkersburg, Vienna, Williamstown and Wood County offices reopen, with social-distancing guidelines and occupancy limits.
* Fitness centers, gyms and recreation centers are allowed to resume operations, with limitations, in West Virginia.
May 20
* Memorial Bridge toll collections resume.
* Wood County reaches 50 total cases.
May 21
* Dine-in service is allowed to resume at restaurants in Ohio, with 6 feet between parties and a maximum party size of 10.
* Indoor dining, up to 50 percent of capacity, is allowed to resume in West Virginia.
June 5
* After 118 confirmed cases, 15 hospitalizations and 19 deaths, the Washington County and Marietta-Belpre Health Departments report no active cases in the county.
* West Virginia's limit on public gatherings increases to 100 people.
June 28
* Most of the 15 new positive tests in Wood County are linked to a social gathering attended by friends and family, while two are tied to travel from Myrtle Beach.
July 6
* Justice issues an executive order requiring masks or face coverings for residents ages 9 and up in all indoor facilities (except homes) in West Virginia where social distancing cannot be accomplished. There is no penalty, with enforcement left up to businesses.
July 8
* Twenty-one new cases are reported in the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department's jurisdiction, many associated with Wyngate Senior Living Community, which has 14 residents and seven staff members test positive before week's end.
July 13
* Justice reduces West Virginia's social gathering limit to 25 people.
July 17
* The Health Department reports a total of 204 cases in Wood County, with 118 active and three deaths.
July 20
* Justice says Wood is one of seven counties with active outbreaks at churches.
July 23
* All individuals in Ohio are required to wear a face covering in public as of 6 p.m.
July 25
* First positive case reported in Doddridge County, the last in West Virginia to record one.
July 27
* The Marietta City Schools Board of Education approves a plan to divide students into two cohorts, alternating between four days on in-person learning and a week of remote learning. Students can also do full remote learning in nine-week increments.
Aug. 4
* DeWine mandates that all K-12 Ohio students wear masks.
Aug. 28
* A 40-year-old Wood County man in custody at the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston dies after testing positive for COVID-19, the first virus-related inmate death in West Virginia.
Sept. 8
* Wood County Schools open with a blended format in which student alternate days at school and spend three days a week learning remotely.
Sept. 11
* Washington County reports 239 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 23 deaths and 10 active cases.
Oct. 16
* DeWine stops at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport just across the Ohio River near Williamstown to urge residents to do their part to slow the virus' spread.
Nov. 4
* The annual Parkersburg/Parkersburg South football game is canceled because the Patriots are quarantining.
Nov. 9
* The canvass of votes in Wood County is delayed after two commissioners are absent due to illness. Both later tested positive for COVID-19; one was also dealing with other health issues.
Nov. 11
* DeWine tightens Ohio's mask requirement, saying businesses must post signage and enforce the use of facial coverings or risk closing for up to 24 hours upon a second violation.
Nov. 13
* Justice announces an executive order mandating masks or face coverings in all West Virginia public buildings and offices, regardless of social distancing.
Nov. 14
* The Parkersburg, Williamstown and Ravenswood high school football seasons end when Wood and Jackson counties are labeled orange and red, respectively, on the Department of Education's weekly COVID-19 map.
Nov. 23
* With two "caretaker commissioners" filling in, the Wood County Commission completes the election canvass.
Nov. 28
* St. Marys High School wins the West Virginia Class A high school football championship after Ritchie County is unable to play in the title game because the county is red on the COVID map.
Dec. 3
* WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center officials say the hospital expanded from one dedicated COVID unit to three and had seen as many as 57 COVID-positive patients at one time.
Dec. 4
* Three more deaths in Wood County are attributed to COVID-19, bringing the total to 20. The county has recorded 2,143 cases, 995 of which are active.
* Washington County reports 100 people hospitalized with COVID, a figure that doubled over two weeks. There are 888 active cases and 29 recorded deaths.
Dec. 15
* Health care workers at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center receive the first COVID vaccine doses.
Dec. 25
* Nearly 300 active cases of COVID-19 are reported at St. Marys Correctional Center and Jail.
Dec. 30
* Justice announces the start of scholastic winter sports in West Virginia is delayed until March 1.
Jan. 3
* Hundreds of cars begin lining up hours before a drive-thru vaccine clinic at the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, where just 50 doses are available for people age 80 and older. Appointments are required for future vaccination events.
Jan. 7
* Nurses with Wood County Schools administer more than 400 COVID-19 vaccination doses to employees age 50 and older.
Jan. 10
* The second day of Wood County's first appointment-only vaccination clinic wraps up at the West Virginia Army National Guard Armory Readiness Center, with 650 shots given to residents 80 and older.
Jan. 15
* The Marietta-Belpre Health Department activates a call center for people to schedule vaccination appointments.
Jan. 20
* The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department allows people to register for a stand-by vaccination list. Within a day, the list has more than 5,000 names.
Jan. 25
* West Virginia's vaccination pre-registration system goes online.
Feb. 16
* Chief Deputy Mark Warden confirms inmates at the Washington County jail tested positive for COVID-19 in late January and the virus has been making its way through the facility.
Feb. 23
* The West Virginia Board of Education votes to require all K-8 schools to resume five-day-a-week in-person classes on March 3, regardless of the county's color on the state's COVID map. Grades 9-12 will attend in person unless the county is red.
March 5
* Justice announces restaurants and bars in West Virginia can move to 100 percent of seating capacity. Capacity limits for grocery stores, gyms, fitness centers, museums and other businesses are to be lifted. The outdoor gathering limit is increased to 100.
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For more information on West Virginia's COVID-19 response, visit https://tinyurl.com/2tf3hdbh