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Coronavirus

Randolph sees second vaccine shipment

ELKINS — The second shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to Randolph County officials late Monday afternoon and will be administered to more local front line workers, officials said. The delivery was the second to the county and was a week behind schedule due to conflicts with the Christmas holiday. “We got a shipment today, but it was only 30 doses,” Bonnie Woodrum, the Randolph-Elkins Health Department’s infectious disease specialist, said Monday. “It wasn’t as much as we needed but we will be giving it to some of our first responders. It was actually ...

State racing to vaccinate senior citizens

CHARLESTON — While there are no plans to move older members of West Virginia’s general population up in the order of COVID-19 vaccinations, state officials said Monday that they are moving quickly to get to those seniors. Gov. Jim Justice and state coronavirus response officials briefed the press Monday at the State Capitol Building about the latest COVID-19 data and the vaccination effort in the state. According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, of the 60,875 doses received as of Monday of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, 30,373 vaccinations have been ...

Justice praises relief bill signing

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice praised Monday the signing of a $900 billion coronavirus relief package that also extends the use of previous federal dollars for COVID-19 expenses. “Thank goodness we passed something,” Justice said. “We have too many people and too many businesses that are really hurting.” Congress passed a $2.4 trillion omnibus bill Dec. 21 to keep the government funded through the fiscal year, with a $900 billion new coronavirus relief package. Despite releasing a video on social media last week criticizing the two bills, President Donald Trump finally ...

ELKINS — A Randolph County woman and a Barbour County man were among COVID-19-related deaths reported by state officials during the Christmas holiday. The deaths of an 86-year-old woman from Randolph and a 70-year-old Barbour man were confirmed by the state Department of Health & Human Resources. “As we celebrate this holiday, many West Virginians have lost loved ones, have loved ones who are sick, or may be sick themselves, while others are coping with separation from friends and family as we stay distanced,” Bill J. Crouch, DHHR cabinet secretary, said. “Our hearts go out ...

COVID-19 outbreak at Pleasants jail

ST. MARYS — There are nearly 300 active cases of COVID-19 at St. Marys Correctional Center and Jail. The number of active cases in Pleasants County more than doubled from 146 Thursday morning to 307 as of Friday’s update from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, released at noon Friday. According to the state’s online coronavirus dashboard, there were 285 active cases at the facility as of 3 p.m. Christmas day. While the report does not break down the number of cases among inmates and staff at individual facilities, it says there are 19 active cases ...

COVID vaccination numbers up

CHARLESTON — West Virginia continues to get COVID-19 vaccines out the door as part of its distribution plan, while the state is seeing more cases and deaths but fewer tests with Christmas around the corner. Gov. Jim Justice, speaking Wednesday during his final COVID-19 briefing before the Christmas weekend, encouraged families to re-consider large gatherings if possible. For those who continue to gather, Justice asked those families to be careful. “Listen to me, you’ve got to be super careful with your family right now,” Justice said. “As sad and terrible as it may be, you ...