October 23, 2020
This year has been very difficult for everyone in our county. We are going through unparalleled times in communities across our nation. Unfortunately, Doddridge County is not an exception. We want to thank the many citizens of our county that have willingly answered the call of our health professionals and reacted by taking the requested steps needed to minimize the spread of this virus. In true Doddridge county fashion, the people have put up a good fight during this national crisis.
This outbreak has had a severe impact on our educational system and extracurricular activities. There is no doubt that the adjusted schedules and alternative ways of learning have been hard on our children, their caregivers, and their teachers. We all know our children need the interaction with other children and their teachers. Everyone involved in our educational system are to be commended for their dedication to continuing the fine work they do with our children. Additionally, we all have concerns as to how this virus can affect the health and well-being of our senior citizens, and our population as a whole.
During the early months of pandemic, we were blessed that we had no confirmed cases of Covid 19. During that time our Health Department staff prepared for when this virus finally invaded our community. Our staff continues working hard every day to do their required duties and many times work very long hours. It is unbelievable, all the reporting, paperwork and telephone calls that have to be maintained on a daily basis. We are thankful that we have had some amazing people step up and volunteer their time at our testing sites. Their dedication to their fellow citizens has been truly amazing. We also need to give special recognition to our Office of Emergency Services for the very hard work and commitment that they have given every day since this virus has hit our county. Because of the number of positive cases we have had, the National Guard was sent to our county to do testing and help with contact tracing. That assistance came at time when our staff could no longer physically handle all the required tasks in a timely manner.
We are very thankful to our local media for helping to keep our citizens informed of what is going on in our county. They are a valuable resource to our county. Social media can also be a valuable tool in communication with the citizens of our county. Unfortunately, some of the postings on social media have been personal opinions and not based on facts. These nonfactual opinions tend to further discourage and confuse our citizens. Many people have opined that this virus has minimal effect. In many cases this can be true, but we also know that a lot of people have lost their lives from this disease. Health experts are still identifying the long-term effects of this virus. We know that it affects people with underlying health issues harder. One thing to consider is that we may not know all the people with underlying health conditions. There is a good chance that we may have some people that have medical conditions that have not been diagnosed yet.
Whether we like or agree with the tracking system the state has setup, we need to join together to get our county back into alignment with that system so we can get our kids back into school and enjoying their daily activities. We have two choices we can set back and do nothing, or we can get tested. If we choose to do nothing, we can only hope this virus slows down, those infected recover, and we do not get any more cases. If we get more testing from our citizens, then we can properly handle any positive results to prevent further spreading the virus.
We are requesting that all of you continue to do your part to help get this virus under control. Wear face covering when socializing, wash your hands and/or use hand sanitizer, social distance in public places. Doddridge County has a history of joining together in difficult times and these surely are difficult times. By getting tested we can get better control of this virus rather than letting it control us.
We applaud the people of our county and ask that you continue to pray that God relieves us of this plague. Take care of yourself, your family, and your neighbors. Together we can overcome this terrible attack on our community.
Sincerely the Members of the Doddridge County Board of Health:
Clinton Means Steve Smith
Judy Bee Ora Ash
Dr. Paul Davis