On Monday, April 20, 2020, the county health department said COVID-19 testing of staff and residents at all nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Kanawha County was set to finish by Friday, April 24.
The week before, the governor issued an executive order that required all nursing home residents and staff in the state to be tested or retested for COVID-19. The health department had started to test staff and residents weeks earlier, as soon as the first positive case was reported at a facility. After the order, staff spent the weekend working out how many tests they needed to finish the work.
Status on April 20, 2020
- Testing was in progress at 2 facilities.
- The health department supported testing at 7 more facilities.
- Testing was complete at 4 facilities.
The Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority and Charleston Area Medical Center helped the health department. The West Virginia National Guard also helped with testing across the county. The health officer said that protection of the most vulnerable residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities had been a priority from the start.
See the testing at Eastbrook Center, Meadowbrook Acres and Charleston Gardens, and Health Advisory #171 on antigen testing in nursing homes.
This information is from April 2020. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice.