CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As Independence Day approaches, health officials are cautioning residents to continue taking precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday.
Dr. Sherri Young, health officer and executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) led a press conference at the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center in Charleston on Wednesday to speak on those precautions.
She urged individuals to make the decision that is best for them and their family in regards to travel and celebrating the holiday.
“If you choose to go somewhere else, please keep that social distancing, please continue to wear your mask, please continue to have that hand sanitizer and wash your hands,” Young said.
“We want you to have vacations, we want you to have your days off but we want you to be safe.”
The 4th of July falls on Saturday, enticing more people to travel. KCHD has reported a spike in cases in recent days, including 29 cases associated with travel to Myrtle Beach. The number of Myrtle Beach cases includes people who have gotten the virus from people who have traveled there.
While Young does not discourage holiday travel, she said West Virginians must be careful in order to end the pandemic earlier.
“We realize that people need breaks. Unfortunately, we are not taking a break from COVID. Everybody has COVID fatigue, we want this to be over,” Young said.
“But the more we adhere to the guidelines, even if we are somewhere else, the shorter we are going to make this.”
The Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center was the host of the 24th drive-thru testing event done by the KCHD and the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority on Wednesday.
There are currently 60 actives cases in the county and eight probable cases, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Young encourages anyone traveling back from the beach or out-of-state to get tested for the virus. She also said people should quarantine but understands if people cannot due to work.
“What we are seeing is a result of previous travel. What we are going to see over the next several days, and we anticipate because people have come back from those areas, is that there will be more community spread. Those people have returned to work or gone back out into the communities,” Young said.
“In that case, we would encourage them to be tested and the health department is happy to be a part of that.”
At his COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice also urged caution with out-of-state travel. As of Wednesday afternoon, there are 115 cases of COVID-19 across 23 counties associated with travel to Myrtle Beach
“As long as our numbers continue the way they are, we are going to have to stay on alert and watch,” Young said.
“The numbers are good but at the same time travel from out-of-state is absolutely concerning.”
Story by Jake Flatley