Justice Encourages Seniors To Get Tested for COVID

CHARLESTON -- Gov. Jim Justice on Monday encouraged people over 65 to get tested for COVID-19 to more quickly treat them as testing overall has seen a slight decrease.

According to data from the Department of Health and Human Resources, the total number of test results over a 14-day period between Nov. 30 and Sunday was 190,569, a 3 percent decrease in testing compared to 196,064 tests results between Nov. 16. through Nov. 29. Over the last seven days, the state conducted an average of 13,612 tests per day.

State officials, speaking during Monday's COVID-19 briefing at the Capitol, attributed the slight testing slow-down to the cold weather, pointing out that more than 70 percent of that state's 1.8 million residents have already been tested for the coronavirus.

"You have to remember, we've tested 1,321,330 tests in this state," Justice said. "We've tested almost as many tests as we have total people. At some point and time, I would expect it to slow down no matter how much our intensity is."

The state continues to offer free drive-thru testing in cooperation between the West Virginia National Guard and county health departments and by-appointment testing at select pharmacies.

Last week, the state announced it was dropping the Vault at-home saliva test kits after one week due to longer-than-expected turnaround times for test results.

The number of positive cases over the same 14-day period was 16,645, which was a 26 percent increase compared to 13,264 cases during the prior 14-day period. As of Monday, the most recent data available, the state reported 1,177 new cases received in a 24-hour period compared to Sunday's data. The state averaged 1,189 cases per day over a seven-day period.

"The magnitude of this is so much greater than what we had back in the summer and back in the early spring," Justice said. "The duration of this surge is significantly sharper, significantly greater, but the duration is hanging with us significantly longer as well."

Active COVID-19 cases, the number of infected people in self-quarantine or hospitalized, was 21,076 cases as of Monday, a 7 percent increase from 19,691 active cases seven days ago and a 26-percent increase from 16,787 active cases 14 days ago. All 55 counties have active cases for the eighth week in a row. Active cases have increased in 34 out of 55 counties, down from 45 counties last week.

West Virginia's Rt number, the rate that shows how quickly the virus is spreading in the community, was 1.08 as of Monday, up from 1.04 last week. The state's Rt number was the 23rd worst rate in the nation after being 15th best last week. Any Rt value below 1 means the growth of the virus is slowing, while numbers above 1 mean the virus is spreading.

West Virginia's daily and cumulative percent of positive cases are the highest they have been since the Spring shutdown and stay-at-home orders. The daily percent of positive cases was 8.33 percent, the highest rate since April 18. The cumulative percent of positive cases was 4.10 percent, the highest rate since April 22.

Justice called for seniors age 65 and older to get tested sooner rather than later to identify any COVID-19 infections before the symptoms worsen, causing greater strain on hospitals and adding to the state's death totals. Justice said the sooner health officials can identify any COVID-19 infections, the sooner antibody regimens can be administered.

"We have got to get our elders tested and we can help them if we move really quickly," Justice said. "If we don't, a high percentage of them are going to die."

Justice also said that young adults between the ages of 20 and 39 need to get tested as well and identify any asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic spreaders. Health officials are working on plans for mandatory weekly testing of students at the state's colleges and universities.