STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
At Charleston
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 15-20
By the Governor
WHEREAS, a State of Emergency was declared on the Sixteenth Day of March, Two Thousand Twenty for all counties in West Virginia (the “State of Emergency Declaration”), to allow agencies to coordinate and create necessary measures to prepare for and respond to the outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus now known as COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 15, Article 5, Section 6 of the Code of West Virginia authorizes the Governor to, among other things, control ingress and egress to and from a disaster area or an area where large-scale threat exists, the movement of persons within the area, and the occupancy of premises therein; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 9-20 ordered all individuals within the state to stay at home or their place of residence unless performing an essential activity, ordered closed all non-essential businesses and operations, and defined essential businesses and operations that could remain open with proper social distancing and other measures to counter the spread of COVID-19 within the state; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 14-20 ordered all individuals traveling from areas with substantial community spread of COVID-19 to self-isolate for a period of 14 days upon entry into the state or for the duration of their visit, whichever is shorter, and closed state park campgrounds; and
WHEREAS, further measures are necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, to disrupt the spread of the virus, and to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including closing private campgrounds to individuals from out of state; and
WHEREAS, this Order shall not apply to any individuals from out of state who have taken up temporary residence in a private campground before the effective date of this Order and have already begun their 14-day isolation period in accordance with Executive Order 14-20; and
WHEREAS, it is understood that many individuals currently reside in private campgrounds in this state for extended periods of time as a permanent or semi-permanent residence and, as such, this Order shall not apply to any individual who has taken up any sort of permanent or semi-permanent residence in a private campground within this state prior to the effective date of this Order; and
WHEREAS, nothing in this Order is meant to impede commerce or any response activities and therefore shall not apply to any individuals involved in commercial activity, including without limitation individuals involved in commercial trucking activities and individuals who commute into or out of the state for work, persons performing any emergency, health, military, or infrastructure response activities necessitating lodging in the state, or persons otherwise engaged in and who must remain in or travel into the state for the purposes of conducting Essential Businesses and Operations under the terms of Executive Order 9-20.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM JUSTICE, pursuant to the authority vested in me pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15, Article 5, Section 6 and Chapter 15, Article 5, Section 1 of the Code of West Virginia, hereby DECLARE and ORDER, effective as of 12:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the First day of April, Two Thousand Twenty, as follows:
- That all private campgrounds shall be closed to any new arrivals to such private campground who have traveled from outside of West Virginia; provided that this prohibition shall not apply to any individuals from out of state who have taken up temporary residence in a private campground before the effective date of this Order and have already begun their 14-day isolation period in accordance with Executive Order 14-20; and provided that this prohibition of new arrivals at private campgrounds shall not apply to any individuals involved in commercial activity, including without limitation individuals involved in commercial trucking activities and individuals who commute into or out of the state for work, persons performing any emergency, health, military, or infrastructure response activities necessitating lodging in the state, or persons otherwise engaged in and who must remain in or travel into the state for the purposes of conducting Essential Businesses and Operations under the terms of Executive Order 9-20.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of West Virginia to be affixed.
DONE at the Capitol in the City of Charleston, State of West Virginia, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand Twenty in the One Hundred Fifty-seventh year of the State.
