WV and National Disaster News - January 5, 2023

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​WEST VIRGINIA
 
COVID

WV Daily COVID Update & Stats For January 5, 2023 (WV DHHR) – There have been 17 deaths reported since yesterday's last report, with a total of 7,704 deaths attributed to COVID-19. There are currently 1,491 active COVID-19 cases statewide. Fore detailed stats, see link.

• Hundreds Hospitalized in Post-Holiday COVID-19 Infection Spike  (WV Public Broadcasting-Radio)
• New COVID variant spreading  (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
• West Virginia Governor to stop COVID briefings will be rebranded  (WTRF-TV)

 
Weather & Flooding

• Flooding in Marshall County minor after torrential rain (MetroNews-Radio)
• Several weather records fall in connection with mild conditions, rain  (MetroNews-Radio)

Water Crisis in Raleigh County - Disaster Recovery

• Patience running thin after 10 days with no water in Raleigh County  (MetroNews-Radio)
• Water outage causing physical, financial hardship for Raleigh residents  (The Register-Herald)
• Raleigh Co. EOC gives Wednesday update on water crisis  (WVVA-TV) 

New Public Health Officer

• West Virginia names new state health officer, commissioner  (The Associated Press)
• Christiansen promoted to West Virginia State Health Officer  (The Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
• Summers sheds more light on plans to divide DHHR  (MetroNews-Radio)

Infrastructure & Community Development

• Why water bills are going up this month  (WCHS-TV)
• Broadband in W.Va. slowed by governor's veto  (WSAZ-TV)
• Capital Connector Project to revitalize Charleston riverfront  (WSAZ-TV)
• Gov. Justice announces airports across West Virginia to receive more than $777,000 in grant funding from Aeronautics Commission  (EIN Presswire)
• FHLBank Awards $1.5 Million to Four MVB Bank-Sponsored Affordable Housing Projects in West Virginia  (LootPress)

NATIONAL NEWS
 
COVID & FLU 

• Flu Misconceptions: What You Need to Know (The Weather Channel - video)  
• New COVID-19 variant makes up about 75% of COVID-19 cases in the Northeast (Fox43 York)
• European Union urges pre-flight COVID-19 tests on passengers from China (PBS)
• Hawaii company gets FDA green light for over-the-counter COVID-19 test (Hawaii News Now)

Weather

• Big weather changes are on the way for the Midwest, Northeast (AccuWeather)
• Massive storm wallops California, turns deadly (AccuWeather), related news:  Newsweek, The Weather Channel, CBS,  and NBC. Evacuations ordered, see USA Today
• FEMA admits Fort Myers Beach trailer locked for weeks was delivered to wrong place (WINK TV News – Florida)​