Emergency in US state so far free of virusThe governor of the only US state without a confirmed case of the new coronavirus has declared a state of emergency so certain rules on personnel and purchasing could be waived. West Virginia governor Jim Justice said Monday that he doesn’t want the state to be “asleep at the switch” because it hasn’t had a positive test. Justice has repeatedly said the virus is likely in the state but is undetected because of a national lack of testing. “If it gets a hold of our state, we don’t have the health care in order to defend ourselves. About 20 percent of West Virginia’s population is over age 65, one of the highest rates in the US.-AP

Source: The Standard March 17, 2020 02:15 UTC