Gov. Justice and state officials provide an update for media on COVID-19 preparedness and response plans. For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, call the States toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or visit Coronavirus.wv.gov.

Gov. Justice paid his respects to those who passed away from COVID-19 over the weekend. He asked people to be thankful for the years of service these West Virginians gave to their families.

The Rt (reproduction factor) in West Virginia has fallen below one to 0.98. That makes the state 15th best in the country.

The West Virginia Department of Education is reporting outbreaks at 17 schools across the state. The list is available on the WVDE website.

Free testing is ramping up across the state. The goal is to get daily testing up to 10,000. The minimum target number is 7,000. Testing is being done at sites across the state.

Additional free testing is being done in Kanawha County. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday there will be a site set up at George Washington High School. It will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Governor stated they will increase testing in Barbour County as well. The announcement of when and where will be coming.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to modernization of the contact tracing system used by the Department of Health and Human Resources. The change was recently completed at all health departments. The surveillance system allows the DHHR to an additional 150 contact tracers. The DHHR is also working to improve the online dashboard.

The National Guard is working on sanitization missions. They are also working to finish adding WiFi hot spots for the Kids Connection Initiative. They expect to finish those by Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. James Hoyer mentioned recent statistics showing the number of suicides among the U.S. military is up 20-percent since the pandemic began. A crisis hotline has been established for National Guard personnel. Maj. Gen. Hoyer stated West Virginians should be watchful for their neighbors mental wellbeing.

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West Virginias reproductive factor is below one - WVNS-TV