On the morning of April 6, 2020, a combined team went to Eastbrook Center, a nursing home at 3819 Chesterfield Avenue in Charleston, and tested 124 residents and 39 staff members for COVID-19. The team included the county health department, the West Virginia National Guard, the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority and Charleston Area Medical Center. The City of Charleston also helped.
The testing came after the health department learned late on Sunday night, April 5, that one resident had tested positive. Staff members got rapid tests and nasal swabs. Residents got nasal swabs only. The rapid tests found one positive staff member within minutes.
The county health officer said rapid tests had been bought weeks earlier because nursing homes were likely outbreak sites. The quick result let the health officer order an immediate quarantine. The nasal swabs went to the CAMC lab, with results expected in 24 to 48 hours.
The next day, April 7, the health department reported three more positive cases tied to the facility, for a total of five (four patients and one employee). In late March 2020, the health department had taken similar quick action at another Charleston senior home. See the Charleston Gardens testing update.