MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Emergency responders and health officials in Mon County have formed a Joint Information Command to monitor the spread of coronavirus and provide a unified message to the public.
Executive Director of the Mon County Health Department, Dr. Lee Smith says the group includes the Mon County Board of Education, MECCA 911, WVU Medicine, WVU, Mon County Sheriff’s Department, Milan Puskar Health Right and Mon Health.
“The focus is to have a joint message and try to avoid the fake news on social media,”Smith said,”So, there’s unity and everyone is aware of the current status, that group will meet two times each week.”
Smith says preparation on all levels is imperative to prepare for what other coronavirus clusters have experienced.
“If we get to the point that we need to have quarantine and isolation and perhaps even involuntary quarantine we may need law enforcement,”Smith said.
Smith and other officials have also met with Judge Debra Scdiere to review state laws.
“We have reviewed the salient portions of the West Virginia State Code and the code of state rules regarding quarantine and isolation and what powers rest with the board of health and the state health officer.”
For residents, Smith says the West Virginia Poison Center has been reconfigured to provide coronavirus information to residents around the clock, the number is 800-222-1222.
“If we can unify the approach to testing, getting results, quarantine all of those things so it’s uniform,”Smith said,”I think it alleviates a lot of concerns, people have an understanding of what to expect. I think it’s the fear of the unknown that gets people riled up.”
West Virginia has zero cases of coronavirus. Five people have been tested, three were negative and two are pending.