When Gov. Jim Justice announced this week that West Virginia’s state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic will come to an end at the beginning of the new year, he made an important point:

“The truth is, the state of emergency doesn’t affect a whole lot, you know, anymore,” Justice said. “We absolutely declared an emergency at a time that we had an emergency. … Now, we need to move on.”

Governmentally speaking, he’s right. There is no longer any real need for the changes in rules and procedure that were in place March 16, 2020. And, one can’t help but wonder whether freedom from his multiple-times-per-week regularly scheduled COVID-19 briefings will allow Justice time for whatever campaign he may or may not be planning next.

In any case, few West Virginians will notice a difference now. But it is essential we do not equate an end to the governmental state of emergency with an end to the actual pandemic. So far, more than 7,600 Mountain State residents have died because of the virus. There were more than 151 new cases per 100,000 people in the state over the past two weeks. And people are still dying.

So while a state of emergency has lifted the work is not over, nor should we stop being vigilant against the spread of the virus. Get fully vaccinated and boosted, wash and sanitize your hands often, maintain your distance, stay home and test if you are ill … there are a host of things that will not change after Jan. 1. You don’t need a state of emergency to prompt you. Do your part.