West Virginia University at Parkersburg to decide week to week on masks
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PARKERSBURG -- As the number of active COVID-19 cases continues to increase in many counties, the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department plans to add testing opportunities in the areas it serves.
Meanwhile, West Virginia University at Parkersburg President Chris Gilmer announced masks will be required indoors at the school's facilities when Wood or Jackson counties are rated as areas of "high" or "substantial" spread by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That follows the CDC's most recent recommendations.
Gilmer released a memo Thursday saying WVU-P "strongly encourages" the use of masks indoors and outdoors when groups of people congregate. There won't be a comprehensive mask mandate at this time, it said, but school officials will review the CDC map before the close of business each Friday and make a determination on face-covering protocol for the following week.
"At present, any changes of mask protocols at any time will be made at one-week intervals, and WVU-P will be pleased to relax the mask protocols at any time that the public health guidance discussed herein allows," it said. The memo notes that as of Thursday, all counties in the school's primary service area are rated high or substantial, except for Ritchie County.
The CDC map measures similar statistics but has a different rating system than West Virginia's County Alert System Map.
On the state map, Ritchie is rated yellow, the second-lowest category measuring spread of the virus based on the percentage of tests coming back positive or number of new cases per 100,000 individuals, as is Calhoun County. Doddridge and Wirt counties are green, the lowest level.
Wood, Jackson, Pleasants and Gilmer counties are orange, the second-highest level, while Wetzel County remains red, which is the highest. Tyler County is in the middle of the spectrum, on gold.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department offered COVID-testing events in Wood and Pleasants counties Thursday.
"We've started to see a large increase in cases," said Carrie Brainard, threat preparedness coordinator, at a drive-through testing event near Bicentennial Park in downtown Parkersburg.
Hospitalizations have increased too, she said, but added there have not been reports locally of vaccinated individuals being hospitalized. Although fully vaccinated people can still become infected, their symptoms tend not to be as severe, Brainard said.
The MOVHD will offer free vaccinations from 3-6 p.m. today at Gabe's in the Park Shopping Center in Parkersburg.
Health officials also plan to review the state COVID map Fridays to determine where to set up testing events for the next week, Brainard said.
The number of active cases in West Virginia eclipsed 5,000 on Thursday after dropping below 1,000 last month, according to the West Virginia Bureau of Health and Human Resources. Since Wednesday's update, the state reported 505 new cases and the death of an 84-year-old Raleigh County woman, bringing the total fatalities attributed to COVID in the state to 2,975.
Active case totals in area counties (previous day) are: Calhoun, 11 (15); Doddridge, 12 (11); Gilmer, 33 (26); Jackson, 71 (61); Pleasants, 19 (16); Ritchie, 12 (10); Roane, 26 (22); Tyler, 27 (25); Wetzel, 125 (113); Wirt, 8 (9); Wood, 198 (192).
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.