In early August 2020 a client of a homeless shelter in Charleston tested positive for COVID-19. The shelter was the YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter, in the 1400 block of Washington Street East. The shelter serves homeless single women, women with children, men with custody of their children, and families.
Shelter officials learned of the positive test on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. The shelter had gone five months with no case. The response was:
- West Virginia Health Right tested all staff and clients at the shelter.
- The client who tested positive moved to a hotel for a 14-day quarantine, with meals and other needs provided.
- Other clients stayed in the shelter until their test results came back.
- The shelter did not take new clients for a time.
The county health department tested residents and staff at other group settings in 2020, such as nursing homes. See COVID-19 outbreak reported at Marmet nursing home and COVID-19 testing at a Charleston facility.
This information is from August 2020. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.