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ELKINS-- Local officials closed several facilities and canceled multiple events Friday as part of the effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The Elkins-Randolph County Public Library is now closed until further notice.
"We will be following the schedule of the Randolph County Schools," Stephanie Murphy, director of the library, told The Inter-Mountain Friday. "We will close (Friday) at 8 p.m. and stay closed to the public until Randolph County Schools re-open… No fines or fees will be assessed for materials while we are closed."
The City of Elkins on Friday urged citizens to consider paying utility bills using the online portal or the external drop box behind City Hall to prevent interaction and the potential spread of infection.
"This is the kind of situation where the best thing we can all do is pay attention to information coming from authoritative public health services," said Sutton Stokes, external affairs specialist for the City. "We've all been hearing good advice about precautions like handwashing and avoiding unnecessary contact and other steps that you would follow to reduce the chances of catching any sort of infectious disease, and all of that applies here."
City Hall will be operating on a normal schedule on Monday, when Mayor Van Broughton and city administrators will meet to discuss any changes over the weekend. The City is checking with organizations such as the Randolph County Health Department, the Randolph County Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Davis Medical Center and the Randolph County Board of Education to track the progression of this situation.
"When it comes to matters of public health, the City really has to defer to organizations like the county Department of Health and the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The City doesn't have any plans to independently impose closures or declare a state of emergency. Anything like that, we will follow the lead of state authorities," said Stokes.
Broughton also released a statement on the situation Friday.
"Like all Americans, we at the City of Elkins are watching this situation closely," the mayor said. "We're all concerned, but the important thing is we need to pay attention to the experts like CDC and DHHR. We have a coronavirus page on the city website with a lot of good information and links and other ways you can keep up to date.
"I would just ask everyone to look out for each other, use good common sense about hand washing and staying home if you are sick and stay up to date with information from the CDC and DHHR," he said.
Robbie Morris, executive director for the Randolph County Development Authority, said, "From an economic standpoint, this is obviously going to have a major effect on all levels of the economy, from the local economy to the national and global economies."
"The governor closed schools and limited travel… A lot of fairs and festivals have been canceled and events where you have some small businesses that sell goods," he said. "This is unprecedented territory and we all just need to stick together and try and get through this the best that we can. I always encourage you to shop local and help our local economy as much as you can when you can until we all get through this."
Velora Winn, owner and operator of the Isaac Jackson Hotel and the 1863 Appalachian Bistro in Elkins, has begun to see the effects of the pandemic on local business.
"People doing large-scale events with catering… pretty much everybody is canceling all of their events in that regard," she said.
"I think those kind of local events where you do have people together in a small space for a short period of time, everybody's electing to shift those off to future dates," Winn said. "The people that have decided to proceed with the events that they have next week want us to provide hand sanitizer… I will commit to that as best I can but there's literally no hand sanitizer in this town."
Winn recently implemented a curbside pick-up service for carry-out dining at The 1863.
"You don't even have to get out of the car. We're more than happy, if you call it in, to bring it to your car. You don't even have to get out and expose yourself if you're worried about that… We had our servers start wearing gloves as well," she said.
As for the hotel, Winn said that aspect of the business hasn't been affected.
"We've had a few cancellations on conferences but so far, the conferences that we have booked, people are still keeping those commitments and they're actually calling us to make sure we're not closed," said Winn.
Extra toilet paper has been removed from rooms at the Isaac Jackson Hotel to prevent theft for the time being, she said.
MonPower, a First Energy company, announced via Facebook that it will cease service shutoffs for past-due customers.
"We understand that customers may be facing concerns and hardships due to steps underway to help limit the spread of COVID-19," reads the post. "We will monitor the situation and adjust our policy as circumstances develop."
Despite the various cancellations of local events, H. W. Daniels Post 29 of the American Legion would like to assure the community that the 101st Birthday Dinner celebration will still be held today, with the social hour at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m.
The West Virginia Wood Technology Center has canceled several upcoming classes in Elkins.
In Upshur County, Buckhannon Mayor David McCauley issued a statement Friday announcing that Stockert Youth and Community Center would close until public schools reopen. The Upshur Youth Arts Exhibition scheduled opening for today with the exhibit to run through April 3 has been postponed.
"City Hall will remain open next week barring any contrary directive from Gov. Justice," McCauley said. "We are all in this together, and I know as we get through the coming weeks, that we'll remain strong as a community with minimal impact upon the health of our residents."
St. Joseph's Hospital has revised its visitation policy for its nursing care facility.
Visitors to St. Joseph's Nursing Care Facility will be restricted to those with a medically necessary designation and will be required to be screed prior to visiting by checking in at the reception area in the emergency department, according to a hospital press release.
Also Friday, Bishop Mark Brennan of the Wheeling-Charleston Catholic Diocese said in a statement, "Taking what I believe is the safer course for our people, I am suspending for the time being the public celebration of Mass, both for Sunday obligation and daily Masses, beginning with this weekend's Saturday afternoon Masses. I would remind our priests that the Roman Missal makes provision for a 'Mass without a Congregation' and I ask them to offer that Mass privately for their people.
"All non-essential meetings, gatherings and parish events are to be postponed or cancelled beginning this Saturday," the statement reads.
For more information about COVID-19, go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/, or the West Virginia website https://dhhr.wv.gov/Coronavirus%20Disease-COVID-19/Pages/default.aspx.