West Virginia’s active coronavirus cases grew by more than 200 over the weekend, with the majority reported in Monongalia County among young people ages 20-29. Monongalia County now has the most cases of any county with 557 out of 4,316.
As a result of the spike, Gov. Jim Justice announced today at a virtual news briefing that he has again capped crowd sizes at 25 statewide and imposed restrictions on some businesses in Monongalia County.
Namely, Justice said he is ordering bars in Monongalia County to close for 10 days. Many bars and restaurants in the area had preemptively closed or limited services, citing employees or patrons testing positive. Restaurants that serve alcohol are still allowed to remain open.
Statewide, group gatherings are now limited to no more than 25 people and events like festivals, music concerts and fairs are canceled. As part of the governor’s reopening plan, that cap had been set at 100.
While churches are exempt from the mandate that limits the size of gatherings because they are considered essential functions, Justice said his mask mandate — which requires face coverings in buildings where social distancing is not possible — extends to houses of worship.
Justice did not specifically outline a plan for schools for the fall but said one had been developed. Last week he pushed school start dates to Sept. 8. However, he said he would not be pressured by anyone, including President Trump, to put kids back in school if he doesn’t feel it’s safe.
