Morning Briefing
4/1/2020
We are still under the National State of Emergency
Gov. Jim Justice’s “Stay At Home” order issued on March 23, 2020, is still in effect. It directs all West Virginia residents to stay at home and limit movements outside of their homes beyond essential needs. Non-essential Businesses and operations must temporarily cease operations.
Cases of COVID 19 in West Virginia
Updated: 03/31/2020- 17 New Reported Cases
162 Total Positive Cases
3981 Total Negative Cases
1 Total Deaths
Counties with positive cases: Berkeley (16), Cabell (1), Greenbrier (4), Hancock (3), Hardy (1), Harrison (11), Jackson (9), Jefferson (8), Kanawha (31), Logan (2), Marion (5), Marshall (4), Mason (3), Mercer (2), Monongalia (31), Morgan (1), Ohio (10), Pleasants (1), Preston (3), Putnam (4), Raleigh (3), Randolph (1), Roane (2), Tucker (2), Upshur (1), Wetzel (1), Wirt (1), Wood (2)
DHHR is the official reporting agency for COVID-19, which in turn provides official case numbers to the CDC. Medical providers are required to report test results to their local health departments, which provide them to DHHR, and commercial/private labs are also required to report test results to DHHR. However, the reporting of negative and pending tests to DHHR has been inconsistent, thus causing a delay in official reporting.
Where can I get a test? Please note that this is not a comprehensive list; there may be more testing sites out there that are added daily. – Source Senator Joe Manchin
Click here to view the list of current sites.
Gov. Justice continues to encourage all West Virginians to follow the guidelines presented by President Donald J. Trump to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.
For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, call the State’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or visit Coronavirus.wv.gov.
Gov. Jim Justice issued two executive orders Tuesday 3/31 – one to suspend all elective medical procedures and the other directing private campgrounds to prohibit new out-of-state campers – as West Virginia continues to put protections in place to limit the rate of spread of COVID-19. Both of these orders are in effect as of today
WVABCA Commissioner Frederic Wooton issued an advisory to the state’s retail liquor outlets after reports of an influx of out-of-state and in-state people purchasing liquor in West Virginia.
“Further, if you find that individuals are purchasing large quantities of liquor, it would be in your best interest to limit quantities per individual, perhaps to 3-4 bottles per person.
CHARLESTON, WV – Today, at the request of the West Virginia Board of Nursing and the West Virginia Board of Medicine, Gov. Jim Justice signed an executive order that suspends several statutory regulations that are preventing medical providers from best responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and assisting the citizens of West Virginia.
View the Executive Order here.
The first two provisions of the order grant additional discretion to the Board of Nursing to waive requirements that may hinder the delivery of necessary medical procedures as the Board may determine necessary.
- Requirement for certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) licensure as follows: to permit the Board, in their discretion, to suspend or modify the requirement for the administration of anesthesia (W. Va. Code § 30-7-15);
- A requirement for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) licensure as follows: to permit the Board, in their discretion, to temporarily suspend or modify the requirements for the authorization for prescriptive authority, collaborative requirements for prescriptive authority, prescriptive formulary limitations, prescriptive refill and supply limitations, and other prescriptive limitations including continuing education and renewal requirements (W. Va. Code §§ 30-7-15a, 30-7-15b, 30-7-15c); and
These provisions were requested by the West Virginia Board of Nursing.
The third provision of the order allows physicians with a pre-existing relationship with a patient to refill an existing prescription for a Schedule II opioid medication without an “in-person” examination but still mandates that the physician evaluate the patient by other means and determine whether a refill is safe and appropriate in the physician’s judgment.
- The requirement that a practitioner is required to conduct an in-personal physical examination every 90 days prior to prescribing a refill for a Schedule II opioid medication to an existing patient for chronic pain treatment (W. Va. Code. § 16-54-4(h)), provided that the provider utilizes other appropriate tools to evaluate the patient at these intervals, and assesses whether continuing the course of treatment would be safe and effective for the patient.
This provision was requested by the West Virginia Board of Medicine.
On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, Raleigh County Schools will be providing meals for 5 days. Please see the schedule below for times and locations to pick up food.
Add Cranberry Baptist Church-11:30-12:00- as a location to pick up food for Raleigh County Schools
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, United States Attorney Mike Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia and United States Attorney Bill Powell for the Northern District of West Virginia announced Tuesday the formation of the West Virginia Coronavirus Fraud Task Force to identify, investigate and prosecute fraud related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The task force will review and investigate all credible leads of fraud associated with the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of the loss amount, focusing on schemes to exploit vulnerable populations, including the elderly, and concerned citizens. Attorneys from the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office and federal prosecutors from the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia will meet and confer with their agency counterparts from the state’s Consumer Protection Division, FBI, HSI, IRS-CI, and West Virginia State Police on a regular basis to prioritize cases and surge resources where needed. West Virginia Deputy Attorney General / Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division Director Ann Haight, Assistant United States Attorney Erik Goes in the Southern District of West Virginia and the Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Cogar in the Northern District of West Virginia will be spearheading the efforts of the task force.
Some examples of coronavirus and COVID-19 scams include:
- Treatment scams: Scammers are offering to sell fake cures, vaccines, and advice on unproven treatments for COVID-19.
- Supply scams: Scammers are creating fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses claiming to sell medical supplies currently in high demand, such as surgical masks. When consumers attempt to purchase supplies through these channels, fraudsters pocket the money and never provide the promised supplies.
- Provider scams: Scammers are also contacting people by phone and email, pretending to be doctors and hospitals that have treated a friend or relative for COVID-19, and demanding payment for that treatment.
- Charity scams: Scammers are soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas affected by COVID-19.
- Phishing scams: Scammers posing as national and global health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are sending phishing emails designed to trick recipients into downloading malware or providing personal identifying and financial information.
- App scams: Scammers are also creating and manipulating mobile apps designed to track the spread of COVID-19 to insert malware that will compromise users’ devices and personal information.
- Investment scams: Scammers are offering online promotions on various platforms, including social media, claiming that the products or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure COVID-19, and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result. These promotions are often styled as “research reports,” make predictions of a specific “target price,” and relate to microcap stocks or low-priced stocks issued by the smallest of companies with limited publicly available information.
- Price Gouging scams: Individuals and businesses may sell essential goods, like hand sanitizer, for significantly higher prices than in a non-emergency setting. It is legally considered price gouging when the price of one of these products increases more than 10 percent of its price in effect 10 days prior to an emergency declaration.
Any West Virginia consumer wishing to report scams, price gouging or other matters by which bad actors may try to take advantage of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, can call the state’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-368-8808. Written complaints can be filed at www.wvago.gov.
To report suspicious activity regarding the COVID-19 virus, residents are asked to call the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or email at disaster@leo.gov.
To report fraud directly to the FBI, please visit their website at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.
Don’t be a victim! Visit www.irs.gov for the latest information on new scams and schemes!
Citizens can also call HSI’s general tip-line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or email the agency’s Intellectual Property Rights Center at iprcenter@ice.dhs.gov.
For more information on COVID-19, please go to: www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses in your state that are suffering substantial economic loss as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small businesses. The interest rate for private non-profit organizations is 2.75 percent. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years and are available to entities without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. For complete details on SBA, visit www.sba.gov.
SBA Customer Service Representatives will be available to answer questions about SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and explain the application process at
1-800-659-2955.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) has put many citizens in a place of uncertainty — Benefits.gov is here to help! In order to help families and individuals find the resources they need, Benefits.gov has released a new article, “Finding the Right Help during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Outbreak”. In the article, you will find helpful information on government benefits such as unemployment resources and healthcare coverage as well as resources for businesses and families.