A West Virginia judge who had been pushing hard for trials in asbestos lawsuits has now delayed one set for next month, citing the "frightening" numbers of COVID-19 cases in several of the state's counties.

"The troubling question is: Should I now permit the trial to take place on that date since the coronavirus cases in Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio County are increasing at a frightening frequency each day, and I have witnessed the increasing nervousness of those around me," wrote First Judicial Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson in a notice on Wednesday to the lawyers.

The move comes as West Virginia, the last U.S. state hit by COVID-19, had a record 262 new cases on Wednesday, for a total of 5,461 cases and 102 deaths, according to state health officials.

The remarks are stark acknowledgments for Wilson, who, in March, criticized the "fear contagion" hurting the asbestos docket while also pushing for trials. He has jury selection scheduled next week in more than 40 asbestos cases, with a proposed trial plan that he called "a dreadful experience." The cases are the same ones the judge tried to schedule for trial last month before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia halted those plans because of the coronavirus.

Unlike the August trial, however, the group trials will take place at a "vast room," not at an "old courtroom without extra space," he wrote. In particular, he moved the trials to the Highlands Event Center in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Wilson is among the judges in several states struggling to hold trials amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, opening statements began before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman in Hayward, California, in an asbestos trial against several defendants, one of whom filed a motion for mistrial after prospective jurors worked out and checked their stove during voir dire.

In his notice, Wilson predicted that 90% of the cases set for next week's group trials could settle before the Aug. 3 opening statements.

Defense attorney Joseph Beeson, of Robinson & McElwee in Charleston, West Virginia, said he already settled his case.

"It is difficult, and I don't think anybody, including the judge, wants to do it, but the judge feels like he has to, to move these cases along," he said of trials.

Other lawyers are in settlement discussions, some held virtually, said plaintiffs attorney Leif Ocheltree, of Pittsburgh's Goldberg Persky & White, who has cases in the trial group. He said the likelihood that next week's trials go forward was slim, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It would be very unusual if all of this was not resolved for the most part prior to next week, and probably a handful of cases or less that would be still around in the days leading up to jury selection," he said.

For those cases remaining, the first 10 jurors plan to arrive on the morning of July 29 for voir dire, followed by another 10 that afternoon, with jury selection continuing through July 31. Every participant must fill out a contact tracing information form and, upon entering the event center, be subject to temperature checks, wear masks, answer questions about COVID-19 exposure and remain 6 feet apart at all times, with no more than 20 people in the room at a time, according to court notices.

Wilson, on Tuesday, encouraged lawyers to avoid trial altogether by reaching settlement.

"If you're going to settle — do it now and avoid this dreadful experience," he wrote in a notice. "If not, I have no choice but to make sure that the trials happen."

The August asbestos trial had been in a single case brought by the family of Bryan Swiger, who died of mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer. In his notice, Wilson acknowledged he had delayed the trial, originally scheduled for February, several times.

"It is not my intent to diminish the importance of Bryan Swiger's case to his family," he wrote. "But, do I jeopardize the health of Mr. Swiger's family, the jury, the witnesses, the attorneys, the judge, the clerk, the court reporter, and the bailiff, when all that may be avoided with delay?"

He also envisioned a trial, which could last two weeks, with everyone wearing masks, and jurors, attorneys, clients, witnesses and the judge, separated by 6 feet, trying to communicate.

He suggested a new trial date in August 2021.

"I regret that I had to take this action," he wrote, "but I do believe that a jury trial that takes place next year in an atmosphere where people are not fearful of catching a virus that could take their life, will be in everyone's best interest."