WV Sen. says the state reported no coronavirus cases up until yesterday because it had no tests

A West Virginia Senator has said the only reason they did not report any cases of coronavirus until yesterday was because they did not have the tests to find out whether or not anyone was carrying it until then. 

Until Tuesday, the state was the only one in America to have not reported a single case of the deadly virus. 

On Wednesday, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin said it created a false sense of security that the state’s residents were immune to it when in fact, many are old and particularly vulnerable.

‘I thought it was just carnage waiting to happen, I wanted to make sure that people understood that they shouldn’t get a false sense of security.    

‘What we did, they didn’t test. 

Sen. Joe Manchin said it created a false sense of security that the state’s residents were immune to it when in fact, many are old and particularly vulnerable

‘Up until a couple days ago we only had 40 tests done, now I think we are at 130 or so, but with that being said, we have no testing, we are not prepared, people think that we are immune from this. 

‘I thought it was just carnage waiting to happen, I wanted to make sure that people understood that they shouldn’t get a false sense of security. 

‘When it hits my state – and it has hit – it’s going to be absolutely catastrophic,’ he told CNN. 

The lack of testing has led many experts to say the true number of cases of the virus is far greater than is being reported. 

There is particular concern for West Virginia because it has a higher population pf elderly and unwell people.

A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 51 percent of the population of West Virginia can be considered vulnerable, compared to just 31 percent in Washington DC and 40 percent in New York. 

In an article for The Atlantic, one army healthcare worker from West Virginia, said the state’s healthcare system will be overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Surgeon General Jerome Adams said that the practical advice for Americans was to stay at home for the next 15 days and avoid social gatherings but it would ‘likely’ take longer to stunt the spread of the virus. 

‘If we can get America to pitch in for the next 15 days, we can flatten the curve. 

A sign on the door of a bakery in Lewisburg, West Virginia

A sign on the door of a bakery in Lewisburg, West Virginia 

There are now more than 9,000 cases of coronavirus in the United States

There are now more than 9,000 cases of coronavirus in the United States 

‘Fifteen days is likely not going to be enough to get us all the way through, but we need to lean into it now to bend the curve over the next 15 days and at that point we will reassess. 

‘What you’re talking about is our 15 days to stop the spread. 

‘We want them to avoid gatherings of 10 or more, unnecessary travel, work from home if at all possible. 

‘When we look at the data, our numbers are where Italy’s are two to three weeks ago. 

‘Do we want to go the way of Italy or do we want to go the way of South Korea and China who were actually able to level off the peak and decrease the numbers,’ he said, referring to the two countries’ harsh approach which involved people self-containing weeks ago and staying home.

Adams said he felt the nation was ‘turning a corner’ in the amount of people taking the virus seriously. 

‘We’re starting to turn a corner. People really are [sensing the urgency]. 

‘I have a 15-year-old son and a 14-year-old son at home.  

‘They don’t care what dad says, even if he is the surgeon general, but by golly do they know that Kevin Durant just got diagnosed with the coronavirus and they’re taking it seriously,’ he said, referring to the Brooklyn Nets player who, along with three teammates, has the virus. 

‘We want people to understand; chances are you don’t have it and chances are if you do have it you will recover.’



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