Executive Order Mandates – Ohio County

Executive Order 9-20 issued by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice on March 16, 2020 ordered the following in regard to COVID-19:

• Stay at home or your place of residence
• Non-essential businesses and operations must temporarily cease operations
• Essential businesses and operations shall continue to operate
• Prohibited certain activities
• Avoid social gatherings
• Provided enforcement and duration specifics

Executive Order 24-20 issued on April 10, 2020 was ordered due to increasing numbers of person diagnosed with COVID-19.  Further measures are necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, disrupt the spread of the virus, and mitigate the impact of the virus in certain counties due to the propensity of the COVID-19 virus to spread via personal interactions.

This new order extends to Ohio County.  It is necessary that essential businesses and operations further limit the number of employees and members of the public entering and exiting their premises, and to the maximum extent possible, must shift work and workers off-premises to the maximum extent possible.

The new order covers the following: 

• Limits outdoor activities to five (5) person gatherings while maintaining social distancing of six feet from one another.
• All essential businesses shall order their employees and/or contractors, to the maximum extent possible, to work from their home or residence, or to otherwise work remotely.
• The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is herby directed to establish and enforce protocols to limit occupancy of any such business that remains open to the public on an individual-per-square foot basis.

The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department issues the following measures to further protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

1. Stay at home or your place of residence.
   1. All individuals in West Virginia are under a general stay-at-home order and are directed to stay at home or their place of residence unless performing an essential activity, as defined in the Governor’s Executive Order 9-20.
   2. All persons going to or from the home of a family member shall limit the number of visits to the greatest extent possible.
   3. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, groups engaging in outdoor activities will be limited to a maximum of five (5) people and must maintain social distancing of six (6) feet from one another at all times.
2. Essential Businesses and Operations.
   1. Essential Businesses and Operations, as outlined in Executive Order 9-20 Section 3, in Ohio County shall order their employees and/or contractors, to the maximum extent possible, to work from their home or residence, or to otherwise work remotely in order to limit the instances requiring their employees to leave home.

                                                               i.      Any business permitted to remain open, that choses to remain open, and requires employees to report to work must take the following actions:

2. Implement a plan to limit staff to essential personnel only.
3. Implement social distancing practice within and around the workplace, including remaining 6 fee away from others.
4. Supply adequate disinfecting and hygienic supplies to employees (disinfecting wipes or spray, hand sanitizer, soap & water, and when possible face masks and gloves).
5. Provide protective barriers for employees exposed to the general public (barriers may include safety glasses, masks, plexi-glass shields).
6. Any business permitted to remain open, that chooses to remain open, and requires employees to report to work, shall establish access restrictions that limit access of the public as follows:

                                                               i.      No more than two (2) individual members of the public may enter into the business per 1,000 square feet of public space at any given time.  Businesses shall keep track of the number of people who enter and leave the store on a one-in, one-out basis after capacity is reached.

                                                             ii.      Businesses shall take actions to establish social distancing among their public customers to the greatest extent possible, including but not limited to:

2. Marking distances 6 feet apart, at any areas where people are likely to congregate or stand with other people;
3. Create one-way aisles or other restrictions to limit close contact with other people;
4. Encourage customers to place orders ahead, when feasible and available, that will allow for pick up and pay without entering the business.
5. Pursuant to West Virginia Code 16-3-2 the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is authorized to establish quarantine of any individuals to prevent the spread of any infectious or communicable disease.
   1. Any person awaiting COVID-19 test results shall self-quarantine until those results are known and reported to the health department.
   2. Any person diagnosed with COVID-19 shall self-isolate for at least 14 days in a portion of their home or residence that limits, as much as possible, their contact with any other member of the residence.  Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department staff will advise persons of the duration of the self-isolation, monitoring and reporting.
   3. Any person living in the same household as a suspected or diagnosed person with COVID-19 or who has known contact with a diagnosed person should contact the health department for further instructions. 
6. Enforcement of this Order is at the direction of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department and County Health Officer.  Pursuant to Executive Order 24-20, the West Virginia State Police are direct to provide support in enforcing the terms of this Order.
   1. The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department requests that the West Virginia State Police assist in the enforcement of this Order.
   2. Additional support and assistance will be provided by the Ohio County Sheriff’s office and the Wheeling Police Department. 
   3. The West Virginia National Guard are also requested to support local health departments by assisting with spot checking businesses and with any other support deemed necessary by the health department to require compliance.

Other actions may be added to these measures as needed in order to protect the health and welfare of the public.  Any additions or changes will be communicated by media releases and other reasonable methods of notification.