Protect yourself and others:
- As of May 4th West Virginia has moved from a “Stay at Home” order to a “Safer at Home” order. You can learn more about the distinction HERE, but essentially West Virginia is beginning a phased reopening of businesses and other facilities, with proper physical distancing and sanitation practices. As the name of the order implies, people are still being encouraged to stay home, practice physical distancing and avoid gathering in large groups.
- Physical distancing is defined as 6 feet of separation. We have changed our language from “social distancing” to “physical distancing” to reflect the hope that everyone will continue to socialize virtually or from an appropriate distance.
- Take care of you mental health at this stressful time. SAMHSA has some general tips here, and there are some good tips for managing anxiety in the family setting here. You can also call SAMHSA’s counseling hotline at 1-800-985-5990
- The WV Bureau for Behavioral Health has more great resources on mental health and substance abuse recovery during COVID-19 here.
- If you’re concerned about exposure in your office, there are guidelines on disinfecting here.
To keep up with health guidance as it evolves, use the following resources:
- For national advisories, the CDC site is here, and they also provide a FAQ page here and daily public service announcements here.
- The WHO also has general updates and advice, here
- For information focused on West Virginia, start with the WV DHHR website here
- For information on schools or related activities, visit the WV Department of Education website here. The Department of Education site also has a full list of feeding sites, here.
- If you prefer to get information by phone, the DHHR hotline is 1-800-887-4304 or you can use the WV 211 hotline by dialing 2-1-1
- The WVU Health Sciences department is maintaining a COVID19 webpage here, and so is Marshall University Health, here