Not only have confirmed cases been uncovered in the Upper Ohio Valley the past few days, but now the first fatality from the COVID-19 coronavirus has been announced in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania.
It is that kind of development, local officials believe, that will finally get the attention of those who have been ignoring the call for precaution.
“Based on what has been going on in the country over the last month, you could tell it was only a matter of time before it hit here,” said W.Va. Del. Joe Canestraro (D-4th). “The amount of traffic has reduced since the first case in West Virginia was announced, sure, but I think some people have been waiting to take it seriously.
“I know we still have to go to the store to get what we need, but it’s my hope that they get those things and go straight home,” the lawmaker said. “I know my mother still wants to go to the store so she’s not just stuck in the house, but we have to be as safe as we can be while we do those things.”
One Final Chance
W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice addressed citizens of the state Saturday evening in what appeared to be a final warning before he issued more drastic orders to Mountain State residents, business owners, and government officials. The governor said he wasn’t prepared to “shut this state down,” but added that if more residents do not take the necessary precautions, he would have no choice.
“The information has been out there for some time now, and overall, I believe the majority of people of Ohio County have been paying attention and are taking those precautions for the most part,” said Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard. “Traffic on Interstate 70 has remained normal, but we expected that because of the trucks delivering supplies to our local stores in Wheeling and at The Highlands.
“Plus, people are going to those stores, and they have been using the interstate in the areas where they still can,” he said. “Other than those kinds of trips, we haven’t seen a lot of people out and about, and that’s a good thing.”
Howard said deputies will respond to all calls received by the Ohio County 911 Center, and that includes welfare checks requested by family members of older adults.
“We’ve not seen an increase in those requests yet, but we expect to see it,” the sheriff said. “And when we do, we’ll go to that residence. Depending on what we are told, our deputies will take the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe in that type of situation.
“It’s pretty simple,” Howard added. “We’re going to do what we have to do for the residents of Ohio County.”
Same in Marshall County
“We’re going about it the same way we have been since this crisis began,” said Marshall County Chief Deputy Bill Helms. “Our guys have been out there, and they will continue to be out there.”
Helms, a candidate for sheriff, has patrolled himself during the past week to make sure the demand for assistance is met at all times.
“I know we’ve never been met with a challenge like this and that there isn’t a script to follow, but that doesn’t matter when the people of Marshall County need us,” he said. “I know our EMA director, Tom Hart, has been working very hard to make sure the people of our county have the latest information so we can all be as safe as possible, and our department has benefited from that hard work.
“One thing we could have in our favor is that most of Marshall County is very rural, and that means a lot of our residents are spread out just based on where they live,” Helms continued. “But we also have areas that are very densely populated, and I just hope those folks are taking the necessary precautions.”
The fact Swank Construction has halted all “Roads to Prosperity” work in Interstate 70 adds to the ongoing challenges to everyone who lives in this region, Helms said.
“Sure, the people of Ohio County will now have to deal with that work for a longer period of time, but that means the people of Marshall County will have to, too,” he explained. “The people of this valley do not just stay in areas where we live. We move around a lot, and Interstate 70 has always been a big part of that.”
Testing Continues
According to Lou Vargo, the director of the Emergency Management Agency in Ohio County, testing for the COVID-19 coronavirus will resume tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at Wheeling Park.
Wheeling Hospital’s off-site testing location is positioned in the large parking lot at Wheeling Park with a pair of drive-through tents situated in front of the pool area. The facility was shuttered an hour early on Friday because of impending weather conditions, but it re-opened as promised Saturday morning.
“Those types of things are going to take place when you are in a location that is vulnerable to extreme weather conditions like what we saw Friday,” Vargo explained. “There’s nothing we can do about those situations because we have to keep everyone involved as safe as possible.
“The people who are referred to us by their doctors will be directed by our first responders to the areas where they need to be,” he said. “In the first tent, they are tested for things like the two strains of flu and for strep (throat) before they move forward. If they test positive for one of those illnesses, then we have identified why they are feeling the way they are.”
But, if not, it’s on to tent No. 2.
“That’s where they are tested for COVID-19,” Vargo said. “The whole process takes about 15 minutes, but the COVID tests still need to be sent out before we know the results. It’s all part of the process.”
The testing location is not only for Ohio County residents, and, in fact, the first two confirmed cases tested at Wheeling Park were residents of the surrounding area.
“Wheeling Hospital is a regional hospital, and with the closures of the two hospitals (OVMC and EORH), they’ve had a lot of work on their hands, and this coronavirus has added to it,” Vargo said. “That’s why I believe the people at Wheeling Hospital deserve a lot of credit because setting up a location like this one is a lot work that no one has done before now.”
