FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A Marion County woman has been issued a citation for violating Gov. Jim Justice’s executive order naming Marion County a COVID-19 “hotspot” area and issuing restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease.
According to Marion County Prosecutor Jeff Freeman, a woman from Marion County took her daughter for COVID-19 testing at United Hospital Center, in Bridgeport, during the week of April 6. As a precaution, anyone who has been tested for coronavirus and their immediate family are supposed to self-quarantine until the results of the test return as negative, according to Freeman.
However, the woman and her daughter did not self-quarantine, and, in fact, immediately violated the precautionary order when the woman took her daughter to a friend’s house, and the woman went to a different friend’s house, Freeman said.
During a court proceeding unrelated to the COVID-19 citation, the woman informed those present that her daughter had been tested for the virus, and at the time did not know the results, according to Freeman.
The test eventually returned a negative result, however, for violating the self-quarantine and Justice’s hotspot order, the woman was issued a citation, Freeman said, which is considered a misdemeanor charge which carries a fine of $25-$200, and the woman will have 10 days to respond to and/or pay the fine. The woman’s identity was not released.
