Greene commissioners warn against complacency as COVID-19 cases slow
With cases of COVID-19 in Greene County holding at 25, the commissioners are warning residents against ignoring the statewide stay-at-home order.
“Our concern would be through frustration, or because our numbers have been so low, and the positive news that we’ve experienced in Greene County, that people stop doing the appropriate thing,” Commissioner Mike Belding said Friday.
As of Friday, Greene County had not had a coronavirus patient in the Washington Health System Greene hospital for 10 days, Belding said.
WHS spokesperson Stephanie Wagoner confirmed that the hospital in Waynesburg has not had a patient test positive for approximately 12 days.
Wagoner said it is possible that patients may seek treatment in a surrounding county or West Virginia, but that state’s statistics show which county patients reside in, not where they choose to get tested.
Belding said the low numbers are a sign that social distancing measures are working, and not a reason to disregard Gov. Tom Wolf’s order, which was recently extended a week to May 8.
“Each time the governor extends something, people kind of roll their eyes, ‘Why are we getting punished with the rest of the state when we’ve been doing so well?'” Belding said.
Belding pointed to protests that were taking place across the country, including in Harrisburg, as a sign of that frustration.
In a press release issued this week, the commissioners reiterated that the purpose of mitigation efforts was to flatten the curve of cases, and to prevent the hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.
“The virus is still here, active, contagious and easily spread. Now is not the time to change those successful behaviors,” the release states.
Belding warned that giving up on social distancing now could lead to a spike of cases.
“We need to keep things within the medical capabilities of the hospitals,” Belding said.