MORGANTOWN,W.Va. – On Wednesday, Mon County commissioners declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
MECCA 911 Director Jim Smith updated commissioners about when the peak might hit West Virginia.
“We’re at the beginning,”Smith said,”They are not projecting West Virginia to hit the peak until May 1, about one month from now.”
Smith says leadership at the state and local level has put our state ahead of some others in terms of safety.
“Since West Virginia did have the advantage of seeing what was going on throughout the country, we did start early,”Smith said,”They believe that will help us in trying to keep our numbers down.”
Smith says if our infection rate remains low and residents follow CDC guidelines our hospital capacity will likely be able to handle a surge.
“These last two weeks have been long and the next will be even longer,”Smith said,”But, I think if we stay the course we’ll see the benefits from it.”