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ELKINS--Community leaders participated in a meeting at the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management Tuesday morning concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing information about local testing and plans to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
"There are testing criteria that ask where we can ask the right questions to see if the people actually need to be tested. Testing is being done more broadly," said Bonnie Woodrum of the Randolph-Elkins Health Department, noting that tests from the state lab report the total number of individuals tested for the novel coronavirus, while testing from private labs such as LabCorps or Quest reports only positive cases.
"The state has tested about 85 (individuals) now, and all have been negative," she said, additionally stating that 80 to 90 percent of people who have the coronavirus are symptomatic or show only mild symptoms.
Tuesday evening Gov. Jim Justice reported that the first confirmed coronavirus case in West Virginia was identified in the eastern panhandle.
"You can have a temperature for a just few hours. You can have cold symptoms, severe symptoms into pneumonia and needing respirators," Woodrum said.
Woodrum noted that San Francisco residents are now required to stay home amid the pandemic, much like quarantines that have taken place in Italy.
"It is ludicrous that our state is the only white one among this red map of outbreak cases from the CDC, but a lot of states around us still have few cases," she said. "That doesn't mean it's not there. Testing has been so narrow so far that we're not catching the people that have no symptoms. That is the reason for social distancing."
"It's hard to think that we don't have a single case in West Virginia because people in the state do travel, and it comes from other states. Since the majority of people who are infected do not show symptoms, it is very difficult to think we don't have a single case -- especially when everybody around us has it."
Woodrum stated that health department officials have begun to discuss which services the organization will continue to offer during the pandemic.
"I think we agreed to curtail the food handlers classes and nonessential services, but we will be there," she said.
In regard to first responders, Woodrum stated that she is most worried about EMS personnel, as "they're going to run into the fire."
"The precautions would be the same as they would be for flu. (…) The disease is spread through droplets and contact (…) It's what you touch and what you put in your mouth and your eyes," she said, then emphasizing the importance of hand washing.
"If you could wash your hands every time you touch anything, and if you could keep your hands out of your face, chances are that you could be right in the middle of it and not get (coronavirus), but it's very difficult to do that."
"When you wash your hands, you are literally washing the germs off your hands. Soap is the emulsifier that helps get them off," she said, also noting that it is important to wash hands after wearing gloves.
"Essentially, these are flu precautions. If we could get people to do these things, take these same precautions--not canceling everything--but staying home if they're sick, handwashing and keeping their hands out of their faces during flu season, we wouldn't be losing … Americans."
Woodrum said officials are hoping that COVID-19 rates will decrease as flu rates begin to die down.
"We don't know that that's going to happen because this is a new kind of virus," Woodrum stated.
She then discussed the county's existing pan-flu plan, which should have separate nuances for individual agencies.
"You can't use a generic plan (…) You have to actually adapt it to fit your building, cleaning crew and supplies," she said. "People also need to have their own personal family plans, and it entails a little more than just having enough toilet paper."
"It's really, really important that our infrastructure--our mayors, our treasurer, our water control people and such--are in on the plan and have these plans because if responders plan and the powers that be don't, we're still going to be in a quandary because they are going to be trying to catch up or make snap decisions on whether to release funds or whether to cover something, and, in a state of emergency, which has been declared, you have to plan ahead."
"The hospital has a plan for alternative care if they are overwhelmed and have no beds (…) to open alternative sites," Woodrum said, noting that the Elkins High School gym and the Phil Gainer Community Center are included as alternative sites in those plans.
Woodrum noted that there have been mixed reports as to when a vaccine for COVID-19 will be available.
"This is not the first coronavirus we've ever had. We even have a vaccine for some of them in our normal vaccines, but this one is a novel--or a new--variety. (Experts) believe it came from bats, as did the other coronaviruses," she said.
Woodrum said the health department has received a notice that they will be receiving supplies from the strategic national stockpile, which may include masks, gloves and gowns.
"Studies show that after a coronavirus patient leaves a hospital room, if they test the surfaces, it is on the surfaces. If they test the air, it is not in the air, which is very comforting because that means it's not airborne," said Woodrum, emphasizing that COVID-19 is transmitted through respiratory droplets and contact.
"(On) a surface like wood or steel, they're saying that the virus can last as little as a few hours. For other surfaces, it could last as long as five days. So, you can't depend on it dying off before you get to it, but it can be cleaned off."
Woodrum then emphasized that hand sanitizers do work in preventing the spread of coronavirus "if you use enough of them, and you rub for a while," as they require wet contact time in order to be effective.
"It can't just be a mist that you go through. It has to have contact time for around 10 seconds. It needs to be wet for 10 seconds."
Also at Tuesday's meeting:
Hollis Lipscomb of Davis Medical Center stated that hospital officials meet regularly to discuss CDC updates and recommendations, which change almost daily.
"We are limiting visitors to one healthy visitor per patient at a time. I think most of the hospitals in the state and across the region are doing something very similar, " he said.
"At this point, we have not limited services. We are still offering all the services that we typically do. (…) At some point--if the community becomes active--we may need to limit services, and the services that would be limited would be pretty much elective."
Specifically in regard to COVID-19, Lipscomb stated that the emergency department has seen some suspect cases but has not have any test come back positive, adding that it has typically taken three to four days to receive the test results.
"We're exploring some other options to get faster testing," he said, adding DMC is planning to open a drive-thru screening process starting today.
"As of this morning, the new CDC recommendations for testing are to test for the flu, and if the flu is positive, then a prescription for tamiflu (will be given). In our case, we're going to automatically offer the prescription. You can pull around in front of the healthcare pharmacy; the prescription will be delivered to your car at curbside. You do not need to go in the building."
"If the the flu test if negative, self-monitor for 14 days. Keep an eye on your temperature and any symptoms. If you happen to get sick in that period of time, give us a call, and let us know," he said.
"The COVID-19 testing is very limited. We've got a few swabs and some media. We've got a lot ordered, but that's in very high demand, and obtaining the testing and the media is quite difficult. We are adhering to the CDC guidelines for the testing, and right now, as of this morning, their recommendation is to test hospitalized patients or patients who will be hospitalized. So, if somebody is sick enough to be hospitalized, they'll get a test if they meet the symptoms regardless of travel," he said, adding that all tests the hospital has sent off have been negative thus far, while one is pending.
Tyrand Cooperative Ministries executive director Belinda Toms stated that the organization's food pantry service will continue.
"We are still doing food," said Toms. "This morning we had a lady who called and said she was sick, so we put it out on the porch."
"We will remain open at least for food."
In a press release provided to the Inter-Mountain by the Randolph County Commission, it is recommended to citizens to call the county office "in which they have business to attend to and request an option or alternative ways to address all transactions via email, mail or any other non-contact ways, if possible."
The release advises anyone who wishes to vote to please register online at the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office at https://sos.wv.gov/elections.
For many other services, the release recommends logging on to www.randolphcountycommissionwv.org to find property taxes, deeds, liens and much more.
To subscribe to text emergency alerts from the Randolph County OEM, text 26241 to 888777.
For coronavirus related questions, call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-887-4304.