Coronavirus has shrouded the world in darkness. I stare out the window from my perch in Brooklyn, New York—at the shuttered Subway, the abandoned storefronts, the accumulated filth of the unswept street—as I feel my own throat constricting, and terror sets in. I’ve been wearing a mask and washing my hands obsessively; apparently it wasn’t enough. I realize now—perhaps too late—that we live in a world forever transformed by a frighteningly infectious virus.

Amazingly, there are still places in America untouched by COVID-19. As of this writing, April 11, there are still no confirmed cases in Ritchie County, West Virginia. I called up my friend Carol who lives in Ritchie County’s biggest town, Harrisville. According to Carol, virtually no one is wearing masks and there are folks who may not even know about coronavirus yet. Hearing about Harrisville was like entering a time machine back to 3 weeks ago. It’s a last glimpse into a more naive time.

All photos by Carol Terwilliger unless otherwise noted.

Carol, thanks for speaking to Countere. Tell us about where you live.

I live in Harrisville, West Virginia. The population here is about 4,000 people. It’s north-central West Virginia. Harrisville is in between Parkersburg to the west, which has about 47,000 people, and Clarksburg to the east.

Would you say Harrisville is isolated?

Oh yeah. It’s just backwards as shit. Pretty representative of West Virginia, honestly. It's not a bad little town though. There's some towns that are a lot more run down than this one.