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Justice: I’d Listen If LIV Golf Tour Called

Gov. Jim Justice delivers a virtual briefing.

The governor is willing to listen to the possibility of a Saudi professional golf event in West Virginia should the opportunity arise.

Jim Justice’s children are running the family businesses that include The Greenbrier, among the most historic resorts in America that once hosted a PGA tour event.

“I would probably weigh in with an opinion,” the governor said during the Friday briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LIV Golf tour is financed by the Public Investment Fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who has been tied to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The PGA Tour has suspended golfers who have agreed to play on the LIV tour, including Phil Mickelson.

The golfers are making decisions probably driven by economics, Justice said.

Two of the stops in the United States present on the LIV tour are golf courses owned by Donald Trump, the former president, Justice said. The United States fought the Gulf War for fear Saddam Hussein would attack the U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, and many people died, the governor said.

“So with all that being said I think it would bring more notoriety to West Virginia and I surely would be open to at least hearing the possibilities if it came our way,” Justice said.

Justice also talked about the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Hope Scholarship. The governor said he would not hesitate to call a special session of the Legislature to clarify the state abortion laws if needed.

The pandemic briefing started with the reading of the most recent deaths from the COVID-19 virus. Justice also noted Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch is retiring.

Dr. Lisa McBride, owner of Cardinal Pediatrics in Morgantown, encouraged parents to vaccine their children. The federal government recently approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children as young as 6 months old.

“They have been waiting the longest to benefit from protection against COVID infection and the severe consequences it can have,” she said.

About 34,000 of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children under 5 have been ordered by the state, Dr. Ayne Amjad, state health officer, said. Parents wanting to vaccinate their children should first speak with their doctors, according to Amjad.

“I would tell a parent right now to check with their pediatrician or their health care provider. Multiple health care providers have ordered the vaccines and are likely ramping up a plan to roll that out to their patients,” Dr. Ayne Amjad, state health officer, said. “Health departments have also ordered them as well. So that’s another resource they can use.”

Pharmacies also have ordered vaccines, but can’t vaccinate a child under 3, she said. Parents should check with their pediatricians, Amjad said.

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