FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – With a doubling in cases last week and after two positive COVID-19 results came in on Sunday, Fayette County leaders met on Monday to talk reopening.
This included people from the county commission, the Office of Emergency Management, the health department and city offices.
What they decided was that now is not the time for anyone to let their guard down.
“We need to ask for your patience and your support for our health department, first responders until at least the first part of June,” Fayette County Commission President Denise Scalph said.
So until then, they’ve asked the public to continue doing what they’ve been doing: wearing a face covering in public, remaining physically distant from others and only going out for essential items.
As barber shops, salons and outdoor seating open up in the state’s second phase, health officials know it is tempting to go out and carry on as before but encourage people to continue waiting it out if they can.
“If you don’t have to be out, let’s push those things back a little ways, and I’m talking to the restaurants, the different retail stores and we’re also going to encourage that no one plan any fairs or festivals through the month of June actually,” Teri Harlan, the health department’s administrator, said.
As a small business owner herself, Scalph says she knows it has been tough on everyone but says if we don’t stay the course, she fears the day when everything opens back up will keep being pushed back further and further.
“If we do not stay the course and we have a resurgence then this could push us all the way back to Fall or to the end of the year, so if we could just be patient and hang in there through the next couple of weeks, through the direction of our professionals that are trying to guide us in a safe manner then we’ll all be better off in the end, so if we could just support each other, hold tight,” Scalph said. “We are in this together.”
As of 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 4, Fayette County has 16 positive cases.
