Thread by @BradMcElhinny

Justice: "We've had an upheaval of not really great news."
He discusses death of Chuck Yeager, funeral for Patrolman Cassie Johnson and explosion at Belle chemical plant

https://twitter.com/WVMetroNews/status/1336673714218405888

Justice: "With all that, we have had 59 additional deaths since Monday. I'm going to read every one."

dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/Pages…

Justice: "It was just yesterday almost that we had no positive cases in the state of West Virginia." He kind of goes back over the history of the pandemic in the state; milestones of the past nine months. He says the first death was a big deal.

Justice: "This terrible killer is all across everywhere."

"This killer is all amongst us everywhere. We're all being attacked in every way."

Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay socially distanced. If you're elderly stay home.

"We sit and we hope and we pray and we wait on our health experts that are such experts beyond belief to come to our rescue."

Justice: "The good Lord is in complete command, but we've got to do our parts too."

Justice notes the rT has jumped, making #WV 10th worst in the country.

rt.live

"Everything remains on the table," Justice says.

But then he says something about waiting for the experts to tell him a specific, necessary action

Justice says #WV has received an increase in its allocation from Moderna, which might be available in a couple of weeks

32,000 doses of Moderna, up from 26,000 last week

Justice: Until there's a vaccine: "The best defense you have is that mask, washing your hands and doing everything we've told you to do."

Justice says there's a fifth inmate death from covid. A Mount Olive inmate in his 50s with underlying conditions

Justice pays tribute to Chuck Yeager. #WV flags to be lowered in Yeager's honor as soon as services are announced.

Justice also describes lighting the Capitol in blue last night in honor of Patrolman Cassie Johnson. He says it was beautiful

Here is how it looked. Photo by @kennykempWV

https://twitter.com/kennykempWV/status/1336454825442234368?s=20

Justice: "Yesterday was a really, really long day and last night it turned into a really long night."

He now turns to the Belle blast that happened about 10 p.m.

Justice pays tribute to first responders: "They ran to the fire last night, and we can never thank 'em enough."

Justice now turns to Greenbrier County tragedy where three children died

wvmetronews.com/2020/12/09/thr…

A 2nd grader, a kindergartener and a pre-K aged child, Justice specifies

"Tough, tough stuff."

Back on covid: "We've got to just really buckle up."

Justice: thoughts and prayers for AG Patrick Morrisey, who said he's had covid

Justice says Morrisey has been working on entering the Texas intervention in the Pennsylvania vote.

Justice: "I don't know exactly where the Attorney General is on that."

"I'm sure the Attorney General will make the right moves and I'll support what he comes up with."

"If he is decision is this is not proper and not right then we support his decision."

hoo boy

This is Texas AG suing over Pennsylvania's handling of the election:

post-gazette.com/news/politics-…

The president has been tweeting about this situation a lot this morning

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1336666810742149120?s=20

Trump making reference to some unnamed other states joining

Back on covid, #WV coronavirus response coordinator Clay Marsh concurs that numbers across the nation have been spiking. He endorses facial coverings.

Marsh: "If we use it, it's really effective. And if we don't it's not."

Adjutant General Hoyer: "We still have months of time before all individuals are vaccinated, so please heed the governor's direction" to wear masks, etc.

State Health Officer Ayne Amjad asks the public to please answer phones for contact tracing efforts. She says contact tracers need cooperation

"We do want folks to please answer their phones" and participate in contact tracing

Q from @MarkCurtisWOWK about possible special session to focus on #WVgov financial needs

Justice: "I don't know that my office has been contacted by this delegate," speaking of the incoming minority leader @DougSkaff , who told Curtis he supports a special sess

Justice turns his attention to Congress: "Congress has got to act."

Justice seems to be criticizing Mitch McConnell, which I don't think I've really heard before

Justice: "I stand open to any level of special session."

which is also something I haven't heard much over the past few months

Justice says the state's handling of finances "with covid blasting us right between the eyes" has been rock solid

"We did it, didn't we Mark?"

Justice says putting hundreds of millions in #WVgov unemployment fund has prevented taxes from being raised on businesses

"It's great. And I love input."

#WVgov still has $806,200,752 in CARES money banked with a Dec. 30 deadline to spend it

Dec. 30, 2020

stories.opengov.com/westvirginia/p…

Q from #PaulMullan about communications with the public re: vaccine

General Hoyer says that's been a focus of state discussions, how to get the word out to people

Q from @cyoungIII about governor's position that there's not enough evidence to merit targeted shutdowns. He directs question to Marsh

Marsh: "Certainly the governor understands all of the information we have at our disposal."

Marsh: "The governor's right. We can't find that level of data" -- describing what he viewed as a direct link between Morgantown bars and covid spread in that area.

Marsh acknowledges that other factors, such as unemployment, are a factor in the governor's judgment about further mitigation

Q from @davemistich wanting to know if there's an expectation of further effects of Thanksgiving gatherings on covid spread at this point.

Justice says he's hoarse and hands off the question

Marsh says he'll go first and tells Amjad she can bat cleanup or run the anchor on the question.

Marsh: "We know this virus is spreading quickly in our communities."

Marsh notes that it's holiday season yet again. "We really urge people to be thoughtful and cautious in their usual celebrations."

Amjad addresses an aspect of @davemistich question about people spreading the virus without knowing. She says that's why it is important to wear a face covering

Justice on Q about school systems independently deciding to go remote: "I hope to goodness we don't have fragmenting. I understand they're challenged by maybe not having enough staff or whatever.

Justice back on more CARES: says the president truly wanted a deal and then blasts Pelosi, who leads the House, which passed its extension last spring

"It was a political football that they could play."

Q from @jj_severino: What are the limits of defining the data (about factors in WV spread) and why isn't that data being shared publicly.

Justice: "I have no idea what you really expect these Phenomenal Experts to do."

In response to Severino's question, Justice blasts Kabler

Justice: "The bottom line to every single thing you change, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Justice discusses how shutdowns affect unemployment and people's lack of economic stability: "What about the impact on that family?"

"The uncertainty is off the charts."

Justice: "This is coming from so many directions that choosing to shut down something over here when this is coming at us from 50 different ways probably isn't going to have a significant effect."

Severino asked for examples of specific data, and Justice answers at the 30,000-foot level

Justice; "I don't know anything else to tell you."

"As far as 'We're hiding information from you? -- really, really, are you kidding me?"

Justice wraps it up, saying he wants to express appreciation to experts: "You have been phenomenal, and that's all there is to it."

Justice confirms that one of the people injured in the Belle blast last night has died.

"We've got a lot, lot, lot to contend with."

Justice: "We're going to get there. I'm too hard-headed to not get there."

Justice says people walk up to him and say "I feel so sorry for you. What a horrible time to be governor."

"They're not right. They're just plain not right."

Justice drops a "The Right Stuff" reference.

"If you've got the right stuff to be governor, this is the right time to be governor."

Justice: "God bless you West Virginia, we're going to get there."