Jefferson County Health Department is coordinating with federal, state, and other local public health agencies to track the spread of COVID-19, a respiratory disease first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. There have been 15 cases in the United States and 46 cases in U.S. citizens who became sick out of the country and have since been repatriated under quarantine.
Right now the risk to the general public is low. No cases have been reported in West Virginia or the surrounding states. We recommend individuals follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations on travel, and continue with normal cold-and-flu-season precautions such as:
- Washing hands often or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs and phones
- Coughing and sneezing into your sleeve rather than your hands
- Staying home from work or school if you feel sick
If you’d like to keep informed about this ongoing public health concern you can sign up to receive our News and Alerts via email, or like us on Facebook. If you’d like to receive other emergency alerts (flood warnings, etc.) from Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management you can sign up by clicking this link or by texting your zip code to 888777.