Berkeley County moved to red for the first time this school year on the West Virginia Department of Education’s weekly COVID-19 education map on Saturday, as both it and Jefferson County will learn remotely for the final few days before Thanksgiving break.
Berkeley is one of six red counties throughout the state, and another six counties, which are not red by numbers, opted to voluntarily enter red status and go fully remote to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in those areas. Red is considered “substantial community transmission,” meaning 25 or more cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of 8% or higher.
As red, counties must suspend in-person learning, as well as all school-related activity. Staff will continue to provide essential support services such as meals, student engagement and special-education services. When services require in-person interaction, face coverings are required for all students in Grades 3-12.
Berkeley County’s numbers for both categories fell in the red a good deal of the week, including spending red all week in infection rate. The county began the week as orange in positivity rate before spending the final three days in red. The education map, which is released every Saturday around 5 p.m., is a seven-day average of the numbers to give an outlook from the previous week. If the two categories fall under separate color designations, the lower of the two would be used for the following week.
There are several testing opportunities in Berkeley County leading up to Thanksgiving, the district encouraging the community to get tested in order to get a better picture of the spread locally, as well as identify those who have the virus so they can be quarantined.
Testing will be available at Hedgesville High School, Berkeley Medical Center and Shenandoah Community Health.
At the school, testing will be held from noon until 4 p.m. each day. BMC will offer testing through Tuesday from 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m., and SCH will have testing through Tuesday from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Testing will also be held at the Walgreens on Winchester Avenue in Inwood. However, those interested in being tested there must pre-register at www.dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx The link to register in the on the right side of the page.
Jefferson County remained in orange for the second straight week, continuing the county’s first stint with virtual learning. Jefferson stayed in red all week for infection rate, while remaining in orange all week for positivity rate.
“From all of us at JCS to all of the families in this wonderful community, we are thankful for your grace and support,” the district posted on its Facebook page as it updated families on the continued virtual learning.
Jefferson County testing locations, which will be open through Tuesday, will be held at Shepherd University from 9 a.m.-11 a.m., the Jefferson County Health Department from 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. and Washington High School from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
By Gov. Jim Justice’s orders, every district in the state will conduct through virtual learning for a number of days following Thanksgiving break. Districts have been instructed to be virtual from Nov. 30-Dec. 2 before returning to in-person learning, if possible. A district must be in gold on the Saturday map in order to conduct in-person instruction.
