Come Friday, the latest round of businesses in West Virginia will have the ability to open again as Week 6 of West Virginia Strong, The Comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic is in place. The businesses that can open, not necessarily meaning they will open, are movie theaters and casinos.

 

While Bridgeport does not have a casino, it does have a movie theater. The Meadowbrook Mall is home to Cinemark. According to information from the mall that will be released tomorrow morning on Connect-Bridgeport, the cinemas will remain “temporarily closed.”

 

As for the virus itself, Justice talked about the next round of free COVID-19 testing. Included in the latest round is Harrison County, Ohio County and McDowell County. Testing in all those counties will take place June 5-6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

The Harrison County location is the Monticello playground in Clarksburg. The address is 518 Monticello Avenue, Clarksburg.

 

“We encourage you to go out and get tested. We’re trying to focus on our minority communities,” the governor said.

 

Justice also announced positive economic news, which also included a local angle. He said a business is expanding in the state, and that business is in Harrison County.

 

“Amsted Industries (Amstead Rail) has become the majority owner of Advance Graphite Materials located in Clarksburg,” said Justice.

 

The business is technically located in Anmoore, just outside of Bridgeport. Many know Advance Graphic Materials is the Carbon Plant.

 

“(Amsted Rail) will expand the synthetic graphite production at the existing facility to allow domestic companies to get it for electricity, batteries, missile systems and things of that nature,” said Justice.

 

Justice said the move will allow the plant to retain 140 jobs. He also said it will allow for capacity to steadily increase.

 

“The investment is naturally good news … We want to thank them for coming,” said Justice.

 

As for COVID-19 numbers, Justice said recent trends – except for the outbreak at the Huttonsville Correctional Center – continue to go in the right direction. Justice said there are 1,341 recoveries and 643 active cases.

 

Justice also read from a letter the state received from the Centers of Disease Control. He said the CDC was urging all state test all individuals in nursing homes, which West Virginia has already handled.

 

“Remember West Virginia, you were the first to do it,” said Justice.

 

Justice emphasized the numbers need to stay low. He, as have members of his team, continued to ask residents to wear masks while out in the public.

 

“Wear your mask. For crying out loud, protect yourself and others,” said Justice. “… You have to remember this killer is still right here. We don’t have a drug to stop … You’re living with it.”

 

Justice had to begin the press conference with the somber tone of reporting the latest deaths in the state as the result of the Coronavirus. The deaths were an 80-year-old male from Preston County and a 52-year-old male from Kanawha County

 

“I just don’t know what to say … It’s surely too many. It’s definitely too many,” said Justice.

 

Justice ended his opening portions again pleading for state residents to take part in the Census. He called the matter “gigantically important” as West Virginia continues to have a poor participation rate nationally for the 2020 Census.

 

Click HERE for the press release from the governor's office on today's press conference.