The West Virginia Department of Education updated the the color-coded county education map once again, on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 28. While Greenbrier County remains designated as yellow for the upcoming school week, Monroe County has been downgraded to yellow while Pocahontas County has been upgraded to orange.
Although Governor Jim Justice’s November 13 executive order requires West Virginia students to remain remote until Thursday, Dec. 3, Greenbrier County Schools will still be providing meals for the upcoming school week.
“All 13 schools in the county will distribute one-day meal bags (one breakfast/one lunch) for students on Monday, Nov. 30, Tuesday, Dec. 1, and Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day,” Greenbrier County Schools stated in a statement posted on social media. “Families with students in multiple schools can choose one pick-up location – no need to visit each school. Please drive up in front of the school, give your name and students names and the meal packs will be loaded. Please do not get out of your vehicle. The five-day meal box pick up for remote students will remain on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at the four secondary schools from noon – 1 p.m. Please contact jncurry@k12.wv.us with any questions you may have.”
Although Greenbrier County remains designated as yellow for the upcoming school-week, the county’s infection rate continues its steady climb. Last Saturday, Nov. 21, the infection rate was 29.67%. As of this Saturday, Nov. 28, it has reached 41.63%. Greenbrier County’s percent positive is 3.29%.
Since Pocahontas County has been upgraded to orange on the color-coded county map, students will not return to in-person learning on Thursday, Dec. 3 as originally expected. Remote learning will now continue for all county students until at least Monday, Dec. 7.
On Friday, Nov. 27, the Pocahontas County Health Department released a statement regarding the county’s recent spike in COVID-19 infection rate.
“The Pocahontas County Health Department has received notification of 17 additional Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 cases in Pocahontas County, bringing the total number of active COVID-19 cases to 82. Of these, 17, one is an inmate at Denmar, eight are residents at Pocahontas Center and eight are community-based.
The health department staff is working to identify all potential persons who may have had close contact with the individuals, including family members, friends, and health care workers. The contacts will be notified of the actions to take including the need for isolation or quarantine. The health department will not be releasing any demographic information relating to these cases to protect the privacy of these individuals during this time of illness.”
The identification of so many new cases of COVID-19 in Pocahontas County this week has led to significant increases in both infection rate, as well as percent positive. The county went from an infection rate of 14.72% seven-days ago, to the current rate of 48.50%, while their percent positive has gone from 2.56%, to 6.33% in that same period.
While the COVID-19 spread in Monroe County is not as drastic as what Pocahontas County has experienced this week, their numbers still continue to rise.
On Friday, Nov. 27, Monroe County Schools posted the following statement to social media: “A positive COVID-19 case has been confirmed for a student at Mountain View School. Contact tracing is being conducted by the Monroe County Health Department.”
Monroe County’s infection rate has risen from 26.37% on Saturday, November 21, to 43.58% seven-days later. While not as substantial, the county’s percent positive within the county has risen from 3.70% to 4.04% in the same period.
The West Virginia Department of Education will once again update the color-coded county education map on Saturday, Dec. at 5 p.m.
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