Schools In 9 West Virginia Counties Must Hold Remote Learning
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Classes in nine of West Virginia's 55 counties will be held remotely after the state issued an updated color-coded map determining their status for the start of the school year.
The map shows the daily average of confirmed community-spread virus cases per 100,000 residents in each county. The categories, in order of increasing severity, are green, yellow, orange and red.
The nine counties were in orange or red when the state issued the map Saturday night. Those counties must reduce their virus case rates to yellow or green before schools there can conduct in-person learning. Athletic contests in those counties also cannot be held.
Monongalia County, home of West Virginia University, was the only county in red. The counties in orange are Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Putnam and Wayne.
A panel of health experts on Saturday reviewed the data that comprises the color-coded map. It determined that Monroe County, which had been ready for more than a week, was moved to orange.
The virus usually results in only mild to moderate symptoms, but is particularly dangerous for the elderly and people with other health problems.
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