West Virginia Governor Jim Justice wanted to make it clear during Monday's COVID-19 response press conference that there is currently no plan to bring back any kind of mask mandate but wanted to make it equally clear that the Delta variant is a major concern.

 

"There is no plan at this time to bring back the mask mandate," Justice said. .But if you are older than 65 and you have a concern, you have risk factors, you may want to consider wearing one, but it's your choice.

 

"We don't come to you screaming wolf, wolf, wolf. But you need to be aware of the fact that we are concerned about this Delta variant. We know how to stop it and the way to stop it is to get vaccinated. Think about this, we are weeks away from football games, weeks away from fairs and festivals. How are you going to feel about being in those crowds and not being vaccinated?

 

"I am not mandating anything but you need to think about."

 

As of Monday morning there were 100 confirmed cases of the Delta variant in West Virginia, including one in Harrison. Monongalia County has 17 cases. A total of 29 counties have at least one reported case of the Delta variant.

 

DHHR secretary Bill Crouch said there are likely more than 100 Delta cases as the process to confirm one is a little more tedious but they are looking into a quicker way to determine if a new case is a Delta variant or some other variant.

 

Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh said the Delta information is constantly evolving but the best defense reamains getting vaccinated.

 

"The Delta is different," Marsh said. "It can spread as quickly as the chicken pox. Nation wide, hospitalizations are way up. The state of Florida had more new infections on Friday than at any point during the pandemic and their hospitals are full."

 

Monday's briefing began with Justice offering his condolences to the families of the most recent deaths associated with the coronavirus. There have been five since his last press conference, bringing the state's total to 2,949.

 

"We can't just let these people become a number, we have lost 2,949 great West Virginians," Justice said.

 

In other updated statistics provided by the DHHR, there have been 665 new COVID cases reported since Friday. The number of active cases stands at 2,480 while the daily percent positive rate is at 6.41 and the cumulative percent positive rate is at 4.93. 

 

Hospitalizations are at 152 as of July 30 with 67 of those being in ICUs but Retired Major General Jim Hoyer provided an example with the hospitalizations about how quickly things are moving 

 

"We had a solid weekend with vaccinations," Hoyer said. "Still unfortunately it's not fast enough. We need to pick up the pace. Since the press conference began, we are up to 178 hospitalizations. We've got to get on it."

 

On the daily county alert system map there are two red counties (Marshall and Webster) and four orange. Harrison County is yellow and the state is down to 18 green counties.

 

"Our mostly green map is gone," Justice said.

 

There are five active outbreaks in long-term care facilities. There are 10 church outbreaks in nine counties, including Marion. Within the state's correctional facilities there are two cases among inmates and two among staff members.

 

With the move to three weekly briefings (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), this week's Do It For Babydog sweepstakes will take place Thursday. This will be the final drawing and there will be two cash prizes, one for $1,588,000 and one for $588,000, in addition to the usual allotment of other prizes. 

 

Video of Monday's press conference can be viewed below

 

 

We don't come to you screaming wolf, wolf, wolf.

 

about the fact we are concerned about this Delta variant. We know how to stop it and the way to stop it is to get vaccinated.