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Coronavirus

Phone trouble plagues vaccination plans

ELKINS — Officials were working Tuesday to resolve issues with the phone lines being used to make appointments for Thursday’s mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Phil Gainer Community Center. All of the phone lines at Davis Medical Center, which is scheduling the vaccination appointments for Thursday’s clinics went down early Tuesday morning and were still out of service late in the afternoon. DMC released the following statement at approximately 2 p.m. on Tuesday: “At this time we are experiencing technical difficulties with our phone lines. Once our phone line is fixed ...

French Creek Freddie event canceled

FRENCH CREEK — Due to COVID-19 concerns, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that West Virginia’s Groundhog Day Celebration has been canceled. The annual event that draws visitors from throughout the Mountain State is held annually on Feb. 2 at the state Wildlife Center in Upshur County. The state’s most famous animal and resident groundhog of the center, French Creek Freddie, traditionally makes a weather prediction for the upcoming months. Early spring can be expected if Freddie doesn’t see his shadow, which is a result of overcast skies on ...

Restraining order against W.Va. school re-opening plans blocked

CHARLESTON — An attempt by West Virginia’s two teachers’ unions to block the current school re-entry plans for public schools was blocked by a judge Tuesday. Kanawha County Circuit Judge Carrie Webster ruled Tuesday against a request for a temporary restraining order against the West Virginia Board of Education brought by the West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. The two separate suits were rolled into one, but both unions requested a restraining order and injunction. Webster ruled against the restraining order ...

500 doses set for vaccination clinic

ELKINS — Local health care officials are releasing further information and instructions to the public as they prepare to administer 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. “The Elkins Randolph County Health Department is receiving 500 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine this week for a community vaccination clinic on Thursday” at the Phil Gainer Community Center, a Monday press release from Davis Medical Center stated. “The vaccines are intended for residents of Randolph, Barbour, Tucker, Pendleton, Upshur and Webster counties,” the release reads. This clinic will ...

New vaccination registration system going smoothly

CHARLESTON — Monday’s rollout of a new pre-registration system to notify West Virginians when vaccines are available is working, state officials said. “This morning we became the first state in the nation to launch a COVID vaccine pre-registration system,” said Gov. Jim Justice during his Monday coronavirus briefing. “As we get the vaccine supply from the federal government, we will absolutely quickly and efficiently get those shots in arms.” The COVID-19 vaccine pre-registration portal went live on the Department of Health and Human Resources’ vaccine website Monday ...

W.Va. COVID-19 cases continue decline

CHARLESTON — Total and active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia are on the decline for the second straight week, according to an analysis of data released Monday by the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The total numbers of positive COVID-19 cases over a 14-day period between Jan. 11 and Sunday was 13,201, a 37 percent decrease compared to 21,072 cases during the previous 14-day period between Dec. 28. through Jan. 10. As of Monday, the most recent data available, the state reported 532 new cases received in a 24-hour period compared to Sunday’s data. The state ...