CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The federal government approved West Virginia’s application for funding to provide additional unemployment benefits to residents, Gov. Jim Justice said Friday.
Those unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic will receive an additional $400 per week, with the federal government providing $300 and the state $100, Justice said.
The governor’s office also said a 40-year-old South Central Regional Jail inmate who had tested positive for COVID-19 during the last week while at the hospital died Friday. The Wood County man, who was being held on federal charges, had underlying medical conditions.
Health officials’ preliminary assessment attributed the cause to complications from the virus. It is the first COVID-19-linked death of an inmate ordered to a state facility since the start of the pandemic, Justice’s office said.
Justice also said Friday that Monongalia County bars are still expected to reopen Monday. He said last week he intended the bars to reopen on that date if the number of cases didn’t climb significantly. The numbers are stable, he said.
The bars will “have to follow extra-stringent safety guidelines” to reopen, he said.
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