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WELLSBURG -- Following Gov. Jim Justice's decision to allow more businesses to reopen, the Brooke County Health Department is offering to order personal protective equipment for them while working to educate them about measures to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
The department recently posted an order form for such gear on its Facebook page, but Mike Bolen, its administrator, cautioned there's no guarantee it will be able to honor all requests because there's a very limited supply.
Bolen said the forms are sent to state health officials who determine how much and to whom the gear is sent.
"We don't have a say in who gets it. We're just kind of a pass-through," he said.
The order form posted by the department includes isolation gowns and face shields often used by medical and emergency personnel but the intention is to make masks and gloves available to businesses if possible, Bolen noted.
He said his department has distributed appropriate gear to Weirton Medical Center, which also furnished some of its own; and local nursing homes and emergency departments.
In an executive order Justice has dubbed the Safer at Home order, the governor said everyone is "strongly encouraged" to stay at home unless performing essential activities while also allowing businesses with 10 employees or less on Monday to reopen provided they limit customer contact and interaction.
Justice has said the order is in response to a decline in positive cases in the state and could be modified if they increase.
Jackie Huff, administrator of the Hancock County Health Department, noted each business is required to submit a plan outlining steps they will take to deter spread of the virus, from sanitizing counters and other frequently used areas to maintaining safe distances between staff and customers.
"That's what we've been busy with this week," she said.
Under the governor's order, pet groomers, barbershops and hair and nail salons will be permitted to operate provided they adopt procedures to limit contact with and between staff and customers.
For example, customers of a barbershop or hair salon will require customers to schedule appointments and wait in their vehicles until that time.
It is one of many conditions outlined for such businesses by the state Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists.
Churches -- many of which had been temporarily closed by church leaders -- have been encouraged to practice proper social distancing, while all gatherings of more than 25 people have been prohibited by the order.
To comply and reduce the impact to at-risk churchgoers, state officials have suggested separate worship services for older residents.
Restaurants may continue to operate only through take-out orders.
Bolen and Huff said Friday their departments hadn't been instructed in the enforcement of such conditions.
They noted while restaurants and other businesses selling food have been inspected by county health departments in the past, barbershops and hair salons were not.
"We're regulating a lot of things we hadn't before," Bolen said.
Huff agreed, saying, "It's all uncharted waters for us."
Both said local health departments may close a business if a risk to the public health occurs, but stressed their primary goal will be educating business owners about the safest practices to prevent the virus from spreading.
"Our goal is to work with people like we always do," Bolen said.
"It will be a big combination of everybody working together to prevent spread of the coronavirus," said Huff.
Both health administrators said residents also should take measures to protect themselves and others, adding those with health conditions that put them most at risk should stay home.
"The disease isn't going anywhere. It's still here. We can't assume everything's back to normal because it isn't," Bolen said.
"It sounds cliche but it's true that we're all in this together. We want to open as safely and smoothly as we can," he said.