[20] At the end of March, there were 4,143 persons in West Virginia tested, of which 162 were positive and 3,981 were negative, alongside this one death.

[25] On July 16, an employee who worked for the West Virginia House of Delegates tested positive for the virus according to Speaker Roger Hanshaw, which resulted in closure of the clerk's office until further notice.

[27] Additional information needed On January 11, Governor Jim Justice said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and felt "extremely unwell".

[34] Justice was joined by Dr. Clay Marsh, vice president of West Virginia University and executive dean for Health Sciences.

[34] Clay Marsh, vice president of West Virginia University and executive dean of Health Sciences, stated: "We are faced with a pandemic by a virus that we have no immune system that responds to, so we can't fight it ...

[39] On April 30, Justice announced "West Virginia Strong: The Comeback", a lifting of the present stay-at-home order that would transition to a safer-at-home plan.

West Virginia's stay-at-home order would be lifted at 12:01 a.m. Monday, May 4 and be replaced with a safer-at-home program, which would strongly encourage residents to stay home but not make it mandatory to do so.

[43] By July 1, some 115 COVID-19 cases were reported across West Virginia, the Governor stated, which were traced to residents traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

On July 2, Justice announced that he was considering making masks mandatory in indoor spaces where social distancing isn't possible.

[44] He issued an order on July 6 mandating masks in indoor public spaces outside of the home to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

[47] On July 1, 2020, in his press release,[25] Justice reported that West Virginia had been awarded over $24 million through the federal CARES Act.

[49] The governor's reopening plan required the state's cumulative positive test rate for COVID-19 to stay below three percent for three days, in contrast to the prior benchmark of having cases decline for two weeks.

[50] The Associated Press[51] reported over 250,000 unemployment claims were processed in West Virginia since the pandemic shutdown in March.

[50] Justice, in his July 1 press release,[52] announced "historic revenue surplus" in West Virginia for fiscal year 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

[52] The West Virginia Strong—The Comeback plan to restart the state's economy saw July 1 reopenings include fairs, festivals, amusement parks, and rides, along with outdoor open air concerts.

[52] Note: On April 5, 2022, a reverse death reconciliation process was completed for 2021 which reduced the total fatality count by 122.