West Virginia county bans liquor sales to out-of-state residents including Pennsylvanians

Western Pennsylvanians will have to look somewhere besides one popular neighboring West Virginia county to buy their liquor.

The Monongalia County Health Department issued a public health order effective noon Saturday until further notice banning the sale of liquor to anyone without a West Virginia driver’s license or state identification.

Dr. Lee B. Smith of the county health department said the order was necessary “in order to enforce social distancing” and to keep residents of other states from spreading coronavirus in West Virginia.

Monongalia County officials said the liquor sales ban includes only that particular county, which includes Morgantown.

On March 17, Pennsylvania officials closed state liquor stores statewide to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Authorities said many residents were traveling to the bordering county in West Virginia to replenish their liquor supplies.

Smith noted that just as West Virginia’s eastern panhandle gets traffic via Interstate 81, which runs through Berkeley County, Interstate 79 also provides an easy path for out-of-state residents to travel to Monongalia County.

The eastern panhandle is experiencing a cluster of COVID-19 cases in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, with 49 diagnosed cases in Berkeley and 17 in Jefferson as of Saturday morning, he said.

“Our numbers are starting to increase exponentially, and we are on a similar trajectory as the eastern panhandle,” Smith said.

“If you add up all the diagnosed cases from our region, we have 88,” Smith said. The includes 48 diagnosed cases in Monongalia County as of Saturday.

Smith said state, county and municipal police will be enforcing the regulation.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania officials approved on-line sales of liquor to state residents, but the demand caused the system to crash.