KINGWOOD, W.Va. – Very similar to state coronavirus trends, Preston County is reporting a decrease in new cases.
Preston County Health Department Administrator V.J. Davis said the decrease is gradual and welcomed by he and staff.
Data shows 190 active cases in the county. The highest infection rate of 12.58 percent is in the 5 to 11-year-old age group.
“It’s a little bit of a roller coaster right now, but that’s better than where we were because, we were seeing an average of 35 or 40 cases per day and it wasn’t letting up at all,” Davis said.
Thousands of people have visited Preston County over the last two months for a major music festival, a motorcycle race and the Buckwheat Festival. Despite those large crowds, large numbers of new cases cannot be traced back to any of the events.
“For the most part these last few weeks it’s been all over the place,” Davis said. “There hasn’t been any real smoking guns that has led to a lot of positives.”
Preston County Schools did pause for two weeks due to virus spread in September. At that time, Superintendent Steve Wottring reported about 95 of their 4,000 students were absent. Wottring confirmed not all the absences were due to positive coronavirus, but elected to error on the side of caution and move to remote learning during that time.
“We’ve probably seen more of just simple family spread from people being around each other in a family setting than we have any particular event or smoking gun per se.”
Davis said about 51 percent of the 33,432 residents in the county are fully vaccinated and another 14,929 have had at least one shot. Health department officials hope to drive those numbers up with a new public information campaign rolling out this week.
“We’re definitely not where we would like to see it,” Davis said. “We obviously would like to see that percentage in the 75 to 80 percent range, like all of West Virginia would like to see.”
Davis expressed cautious optimism on the decline in cases due to approaching cooler weather that will drive more gatherings indoors and the annual flu season. Davis has asked community members to be careful in groups, wear a mask if you think it makes senses and if you have symptoms get a free coronavirus test.
“It is still out there,” Davis said. “That’s what can happen when things slow down. People think it’s over and go out and start doing stuff and can lead to the next big surge.”
Here is the information for coronavirus testing in Preston County:
Eglon Clinic
Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Phone: 304-735-3155
Mon Health Preston Memorial Hospital
Monday and Friday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Newburg Clinic
Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Phone: 304-892-2812
Rowlesburg Clinic
Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Phone: 304-454-2421
Walgreens
Drive-Thru Pharmacy by appointment
Terra Alta Community Ambulance Squad Station
10/28/2021 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
11/2/2021 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
11/4/2021 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
11/9/2021 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
11/11/2021 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.