The government takes steps to manage COVID-19 and its spiraling outbreak in the nation. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito interviewed with the Positively WV podcast to discuss her intentions and knowledge of the steps put in motion regarding the pandemic. The goal is to help the general public as best as possible.

Sen. Capito has taken action and has hosted seven constituent tele-town halls on COVID-19 with more than half of the state (26 counties).

Sen. Capito keeps in close contact with small businesses in West Virginia and the administration — this includes the vice president, who is leading the COVID-19 Task Force.

THOUGHTS ON REOPENING

What can West Virginia businesses do — right now — to survive this current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic situation we’re all facing today?

Sen. Capito participated in a call with President Trump on April 16, 2020.

“The president entertained a lot of questions and answers. We didn’t have a lot of disagreement,” Capito said. “Maybe some areas that might have greater emphasis than others. One of the areas we had felt like we needed to focus on more is the testing area.

“People need to have the confidence — A, No. 1 — that if you can get a test to tell if you’re either immune to it or have had it, that would be helpful, I think, for an employee and an employer to know. These tests are going to be very widespread and easy to administer.

“Then there was the counter — we can’t wait until we’re 100%. We’re never going to get big and broad to open up the economy. We see some regional packs developing amongst some states. They can start to reopen and gradually see how it goes.

“We had similar thoughts in terms of the gradualness, the anxiousness that everybody feels to want to go back but still the wariness of where’s this virus and ‘I don’t want to get it,’ and ‘Am I going to get it?’” Capito said.

BACKLASH FROM

THE PUBLIC

“It is intense, and I think most public servants, I put myself in that category, we’re fixers, pleasers. We want people to be happy. There’s so much uncertainty with what we see. We have all these programs out here designed to help people. There’s some backlash on if some are helping people or not,” Capito said.

Sen. Capito gave the following example:

The option for people to go on unemployment earns individuals an increased $600 each week. Some people are laid off, and their employers will want them back when businesses reopen again. However, some people could be making more money on unemployment compared to when they were working.

“So that’s created a problem. I voted to try to eliminate that as a problem but lost on that. Those are small things that are going to impact when people reopen. If you’re in a business that’s people-facing, how’s that going to look? Are you going to be the grocery clerk behind the screen or shaking hands? I don’t think we’re going to get there immediately,” Capito said.

CONTINUING TO PRACTICE MEDICINE DURING COVID-19

“If you think of doctor’s offices as small businesses who have other people besides practitioners to rely on, it keeps that business open,” Capito said. “It keeps that business going.

“One of the issues we’ve had with telehealth is we’ve tried to work with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — to try to get them in the sign of an emergency to accept just an audio call. A lot of people don’t have an internet connection, but they have a landline. We’re still working on that.

“We’ve been working on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They had a telestroke program. We know that time is of the essence with a stroke. It’s worked very successfully,” Capito said.

THOUGHTS ON

INNOVATION

“I think one of the things that really holds promise for every state — we didn’t have the pharmaceuticals manufactured in our country that we could access quickly,” Capito said. “We didn’t have the masks. We didn’t have gloves. We didn’t have the swabs for the testing. We didn’t have the reagents needed from the testing.

“What I think you’ll see from Congress is a resurgence of domestic manufacturing for our strategic stockpiles. This is where I think West Virginia can innovate. Here in Morgantown, Mylan is right there — why not? I don’t think they’re at full capacity. That’s a great place for us to step into that void.”

“The innovators also need to look at one of the things we’re finding some trouble with is our education systems are much better prepared for E-Learning than others. To innovate that way would be helpful to students.

“Also, there’s going to be a period of time where we’re still wondering about health issues — vaccines. I see a lot of possibilities for innovation,” Capito said.

Sen. Capito spoke about when reopenings happen and families want to go on a vacation or trip somewhere after leaving isolation; people should go to open areas like the wild and wonderful West Virginia.

“Come to West Virginia. The appreciation for open spaces is going to be a lot more after this compared to the congestion of a city like New York City or somewhere else where bad things can get worse really quickly,” Capito said.

Learn more about Senator Capito at her website: https://www.capito.senate.gov/.