On April 15, 2020, the West Virginia National Guard tested patients and staff for COVID-19 at Riverside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The center is on MacCorkle Avenue in Jefferson, Kanawha County.
One patient from the center was in the hospital with COVID-19, and other residents showed symptoms. The Guard first tested 75 patients. It also tested staff and made plans to test more staff.
Guard members from Task Force CBRNE Response Enterprise and Task Force Medical did the testing. The county health department and the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority helped.
At that time, Kanawha County had 93 COVID-19 cases: 43 active and 50 closed. That count did not yet include the cases at Riverside.
Two days later, 16 patients at the center had tested positive. See Six More Positive Tests at Riverside; Officials Urge Stay the Course and testing at Meadowbrook Acres Nursing Center.