Breaking News

Coronavirus

82 inmates test positive at TVRJ

ELKINS — The Tygart Valley Regional Jail currently has the second-worst outbreak of COVID-19 cases within the West Virginia regional jail system. Statistics released Monday by the state show TVRJ with 82 active cases among the 507 inmates at the facility, with 34 recovered cases. A total of 387 test results are pending among TVRJ inmates. The only worse outbreak in the regional jail system currently is at Central Regional Jail in Braxton County, which has 251 active cases and 61 recovered cases among its population of 485 inmates, according to the state Division of Corrections and ...

Randolph hits record high of COVID cases

ELKINS — Local health officials are urging the public to continue to take extra precautions against the spread of COVID-19 even after they’ve received a vaccination for the coronavirus, as Randolph County has hit a high mark for active COVID-19 cases. Many may believe that once they receive an inoculation for COVID-19, they can live carefree with no worries of being infected thereafter. But experts were quick to point out during Monday’s Randolph County Office of Emergency Management COVID-19 update conference call that is simply not the case. “You can still be infected even ...

Elkins, Buckhannon face staffing issues

ELKINS — City employees’ exposure to COVID-19 is creating problems for both the City of Elkins and the City of Buckhannon. In Elkins, city garbage collection is being disrupted due to quarantined employees, officials said. “Garbage pickup in Elkins may be delayed or disrupted over the next few weeks due to personnel shortages resulting in part from exposures to the COVID-19 virus,” a City of Elkins press release stated Monday. Operations Manager Bob Pingley said four of the sanitation department’s five drivers are currently in quarantine, and the department is missing ...

W.Va. December COVID-19 cases, deaths see major increases

CHARLESTON — West Virginia ended 2020 with COVID-19 cases and deaths substantially increasing as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. According to numbers from the Department of Health and Human Resources, December saw 39,279 COVID-19 cases in the state for an increase over ...

Justice dismisses Greenbrier Resort coronavirus concerns

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice dismissed a video making the rounds on social media showing party goers flouting social distancing and mask rules at a New Year’s Eve event held at the Justice-owned Greenbrier Resort, calling it a political attack. Justice was asked about the video Monday by reporters during his coronavirus briefing at the State Capitol Building. “Let’s just call it what it is ... the bottom line of the whole thing is it’s just a hit at me from the standpoint of a political hit at me,” Justice said. The 14-second video pans around the upper lobby of the ...

Seniors wait for turn in COVID-19 vaccination line-up

CHARLESTON — Seniors waiting their turn for a COVID-19 vaccine said they were pleased to learn that West Virginia is following federal guidelines on getting the vaccine to seniors most at risk for infection. David Barger and Connie Miller, residents of Teays Valley in Putnam County, ...