On Friday, March 27, 2020, the health department reported that the residents of Brookdale Charleston Gardens who were tested on site for COVID-19 had all tested negative. The senior living home is in Charleston.
The testing took place on Wednesday, March 25, after one resident tested positive. A team from Charleston Area Medical Center, the health department and the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority went to the home that afternoon to test the residents as a precaution. On that day, confirmed cases in Kanawha County went from six to 13.
Of the residents, 78 tested negative. Two residents declined the test, but they had no symptoms. Results for staff and family members were still pending. Staff who had direct contact with the resident in the hospital were tested first.
The county health officer said the result showed that the precautions were working. The health officer asked the home to limit visitors, outside vendors and staff exposure, and said residents should be tested again if they got symptoms. Ten days later, the same kind of team tested residents at a second Charleston facility. See 124 residents, 39 staff members of Eastbrook Center tested for COVID-19.