CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – COVID-19 Cases in Harrison County are on the rise, according to executive director of the Harrison-Clarksburg Health Department Chad Bundy.
“We have about 225 cases in Harrison County now,”Bundy said,”We definitely have community spread.”
The DHHR website shows more than 26-percent of cases are in the 29-year-old and under age group, 50 to 59-year-olds account for the second highest category with about 15-percent.
The recent uptick in Harrison County can be attributed to work settings and travel, according to Bundy.
“Over the last couple weeks we’re averaging about 4 to 5 cases per day which is an increase for Harrison County,”Bundy said,”We are concerned in looking at those numbers.”
Proper hand hygiene, cough and sneeze etiquette along with masks or face coverings and social distancing are important guidelines to slow or even stop spread of the disease.
“We’re asking the community to make those decisions to wear a mask and to do that social distancing,”Bundy said,”And to make that even more prominent now in Harrison County as we see this rise in cases.”
Harrison County Schools will offer voluntary COVID-19 tests to their 1,500 employees at school locations in advance of the planned opening for face-to-face instruction on September 8. Testing is the key way to locate, track and stop the virus from spreading.
“A lot of folks have gone back to the workplace and other activities,”Bundy said,”They’re taking that home and potentially infecting other family members in their close family unit and that’s why we’re seeing those numbers grow exponentially.”