WV and National Disaster News - February 3, 2022

ReadyWV website contains references and/or hyperlinks to other websites (News Media & Other Sites) that are not operated by or controlled by ReadyWV. These have been included for information purposes only and do not imply affiliation with or endorsement by ReadyWV. ReadyWV gives no guarantees and accepts no liability for the content, use and availability of these third-party websites.​

WEST VIRGINIA

WV Daily COVID Update & Stats for February 3, 2022 (WV DHHR) - there are currently 11,057 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There have been 15 deaths reported since yesterday’s report with a total of 5,829 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

COVID

• State leaders say covid wave may be leveling off, but serious cases may linger (MetroNews-Radio)
• Omicron Surge Has Likely Peaked In W.Va. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting-Radio)
• Active cases drop, deaths rise from virus in West Virginia (The Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
• West Virginia Gov. Justice: Feds open to discussing rural hospital worker COVID vaccine waiver (The Exponent Telegram) Also See: The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register
• Kanawha County Schools updates guidance to nix contact tracing; mask policy active (WCHS-TV)
• West Virginia Bureau for Public Health changing COVID procedures (The Parkersburg News and Sentinel)

WEATHER

• Heavy rain transitioning to ice in the W.Va. forecast this week (MetroNews-Radio)
• Significant winter storm to pose several hazards to our area Thursday into Friday (WCHS-TV)
• Ohio and West Virginia Winter Storm Warning issued for most of the Ohio Valley (WTRF-TV)
• Road crews and power companies prepare for winter storm(WTAP-TV)

OTHER

• WVSU joins statewide overdose prevention initiative (WCHS-TV)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Pfizer asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5 (CBS News)
• Why do some people get Covid when others don’t? Here’s what we know so far (CNBC)
• The Covid Vaccine We Need Now May Not Be a Shot (The New York Times)
• Strained US hospitals seek foreign nurses amid visa windfall (The Associated Press)
• COVID-19: Low-, Middle-Income Countries need antivirals as well as vaccines (Nature)
• Pandemic preparedness and COVID-19: an exploratory analysis of infection and fatality rates, and contextual factors associated with preparedness in 177 countries, from Jan 1, 2020, to Sept 30, 2021 (The Lancet)
• Europe entering Covid pandemic 'ceasefire', says WHO (BBC News)
• COVID inequity: In Africa, at-home tests are scarce, costly (The Associated Press)

WEATHER

• Winter storm packing snow and freezing rain is moving across the U.S. (National Public Radio)
• Winter Weather Inbound with Large Storm Hitting Midwest (WCBC-Radio)
• Winter Storm Landon Spreading a 2,000 Mile-Long Mess of Snow, Ice from Texas to the Midwest and Northeast (The Weather Channel)
• Winter Storm Landon: Interstates Covered in Snow and Ice, Thousands of Flights Canceled (The Weather Channel) Related News: NBC News, AccuWeather, KRWG Public Media (NM)
• FEMA announced on Wednesday that all Disaster Recovery Centers in Kentucky would be closed Thursday and Friday due to the winter storm. (West Kentucky Star)

OTHER

• US to modernize, speed up work on Puerto Rico power grid (Associated Press)

• Labor Day Fire Survivors (Oregon) In Fema Housing Granted Extension (Associated Press)
• Why People of Color Are More Likely to Die in Accidents Like the Bronx Apartment Fire (TIME)