STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

At Charleston

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 16-20

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 to perform and exercise other functions, powers, and duties that are necessary to promote and secure the safety and protection of the civilian population; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 9-20 ordered, among other things, all individuals within the State of West Virginia to stay at home or their place of residence unless performing an essential activity, which term “essential activity” included travel for certain medical care and treatment; 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 the prohibition of elective medical procedures throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, prohibiting elective medical procedures is necessary during this state of emergency to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by further limiting the movement of persons and occupancy of premises throughout the state, and by conserving limited medical personnel, personal protective equipment, and other necessary medical equipment and supplies in light of existing and anticipated treatment needs for COVID-19 patients.

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, that all elective medical procedures are hereby prohibited; provided that patients will still have access to urgent, medically necessary procedures like those needed to preserve the patient’s life or long-term health; and provided that this prohibition applies equally to all types of elective medical procedures performed in hospitals, offices, and clinics throughout the state. The term “elective” includes medical procedures that are not immediately medically necessary to preserve the patient’s life or long-term health, except that procedures that cannot be postponed without compromising the patient’ s long­ term health, procedures that cannot be performed consistent with other law at a later date, or procedures that are religiously mandated shall not be considered “elective” under this Order.

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.