CHARLESTON – After weeks with no confirmed cases, Gov. Jim Justice announced Tuesday evening in a televised address to the state that West Virginia now has its first case of the coronavirus.

“Our health officials came to me and said now we do have our first positive confirmed,” Justice said from the Governor’s Reception Room. “From that, I would tell you just this: we knew it was coming. We’ve prepared for this, and we shouldn’t panic.”

Justice, who has been the public face of the state’s coronavirus response since Thursday, said Tuesday that the first case of coronavirus was found in the Eastern Panhandle. As a result, Justice announced that all bars, restaurants, and casinos would close, though carry-out and delivery could continue.

“We have a real plan,” Justice said. “We developed a real plan of action, a plan to be ready as this terrible virus got closer and closer to our shores.”