West Virginia National Guard Story Archives - Page 4 of 9

Here's Where Free Testing For The Coronavirus Will Happen This Week

State health officials have announced more free testing in Kanawha, Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan and Mineral counties this weekend, through the state health department, local agencies and the West Virginia National Guard.

That’s in addition to testing already happening in Fayette County, Tuesday through Thursday, and an event in Belle, Kanawha County on Wednesday.

Local and state health officials will be at the Kilsyth Free Will Baptist Church in Mount Hope on Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m, and at Oak Hill High School on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

They’ll be at the Mount Hope Fire Department Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m.

From Friday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the West Virginia National Guard help offer free testing at the Musselman High School in Berkeley County, the Hollywood Casino in Jefferson County and the Warm Springs Middle School in Morgan County.

In Kanawha County, there will be free testing at the Shawnee Sports Complex in Dunbar on both Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Through the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, free testing also will be available at DuPont Middle School in Belle on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Guard will be in Mineral County at the American Legion in Piedmont on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at the Keyser Primary School on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tests are free and no insurance information or proof of symptoms is required. Proof of residency or identification is required.

Data shows the coronavirus disproportionately impacts minority communities. In West Virginia, roughly 7 percent of the state’s positive cases are African American, when only 4 percent of the state’s population is black.

According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, a little more than 10 percent of the state’s positive cases are from other minority groups. The DHHR has provided no further breakdown.

This will be the West Virginia National Guard’s third weekend out, facilitating free walk up and drive through testing to counties with high population densities and minority populations. After testing Berkeley, Jefferson, Mercer and Raleigh Counties earlier in May, Dr. Cathy Slemp from the state Bureau for Public Health reported Tuesday the state had tested 2,385 people over one weekend, between 18 and 41 percent of which were from black West Virginians.

CORRECTION: This article was updated at 8 a.m on Thursday, May 28. An earlier version of the article stated the West Virginia National Guard was involved in free testing efforts in Fayette County. The Guard is only helping support efforts in Kanawha, Mineral, Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties over the weekend.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

W.Va. National Guard To Test All Huttonsville Prisoners, After 27 Test Positive For Coronavirus

At least 27 people incarcerated at the Huttonsville Correctional Center and eight employees have tested positive this week for the coronavirus, according to the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

Due to this increase, Gov. Jim Justice is ordering the West Virginia National Guard to test all prisoners at the Randolph County facility.

Originally, Justice had only called on the Guard to test roughly 40 exposed prisoners, who had been living in the same unit as the first known positive case, and all Huttonsville staff. DMAPS said in a news release that employees were screening all roughly 1,030 prisoners at Huttonsville daily.

DMAPS confirmed 25 additional cases among prisoners Friday evening. The prisoners are in good condition and are in isolation at the facility.

Four more employees also tested positive, bringing that to a total of eight personnel who are recovering from home. So far, the Guard has tested 242 Huttonsville employees.

Through contact tracing and testing, the Guard has “established connections among several of the positive employees, and between that group and the initial inmate to test positive,” DMAPS stated.

The Guard will begin sanitizing efforts after identifying and isolating all the people who have tested positive at Huttonsville.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

Need Free Coronavirus Testing? Here’s Where The W.Va. Guard Will Be This Weekend

Updated Thursday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m.

The West Virginia National Guard will begin its second round of free, drive-thru and walk-up testing, to reach minority and densely-populated communities on Friday, May 22.

The Guard will be at the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center in Charleston and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Huntington on Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Guard also will be at Windmill Park in Fairmont both Friday and Saturday.

In Morgantown, the Guard plans to provide testing at the Big Lots parking lot on Friday, and they’ll be at the WVU Coliseum and Mountainview Elementary School on Saturday.

Testing at these sites is free and no proof of insurance or symptoms is required. The Monongalia County Health Department requests those who have insurance to bring their information, just in case insurance companies can help recoup some of the local costs of testing.

Those seeking tests will need identification or proof of residence.

This testing is meant to help reach those in the state’s minority communities that are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus.

Last weekend, the Guard tested more than 1,600 people in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, which for weeks were considered “hot spots” due to their high numbers of positive cases. The governor removed that status on Monday.

According to a presentation from Dr. Cathy Slemp with the Bureau for Public Health Tuesday morning, 22 percent of those tested in the Eastern Panhandle were African American and 68 percent were white.

Results were still being processed Tuesday morning, but at the time Slemp said only a little more than 1 percent of those tested in the Eastern Panhandle were positive.

As of Wednesday, Jefferson had 111 positive cases, and Berkeley had 233.

The Guard also tested 181 people in Mercer County and 194 in Raleigh County over the weekend. In both areas, roughly a third of those tested were black.

Slemp said Tuesday, during a virtual meeting with the COVID-19 Advisory Commission on African American Disparities, that she would like to see more free testing for southern West Virginia.

The Guard announced its plans for free testing in the first four counties last week on Thursday, which some members of the advisory commission said was too late to fully get the word out.

According to data from the Department of Health and Human Resources Wednesday morning, a little over 7 percent of the state’s positive cases fall in the African American population, which only made up a little more than 4 percent of the state’s population in the 2018 census estimates.

About a quarter of black West Virginians who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been hospitalized. For white people the figure is 14.3 percent.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources reports the Guard will be in Fayette, Kanawha and Mineral Counties the following weekend, on Monday 29 and May 30. Addresses have yet to be announced.

An earlier version of this article stated no proof of insurance is required. While that still remains true, the Mon County Health Department is requesting people who have insurance bring their information, in case the insurance company can help recoup some of the local costs. This still shouldn’t result in any charges to the individual seeking testing, and the insurance information is not mandatory.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

May 19, 2002: Sergeant Gene A. Vance Jr. Dies in the Afghan War

Sergeant Gene A. Vance Jr. of Morgantown was killed in combat in Afghanistan on May 19, 2002. Vance was the only member of the West Virginia National Guard to die in the Afghan War, but 14 other West Virginians in active duty also lost their lives in the conflict.

The war was triggered by the terrorists’ attacks on the United States on 9/11/2001. The West Virginia Air National Guard’s Tactical Airlift Wings out of Charleston and Martinsburg flew hundreds of missions for the Air Force. The West Virginia National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), with headquarters in Huntington, was one of the first units sent to Afghanistan. Sergeant Vance was a member of this unit.

Reserve and National Guard units were dispatched to both Afghanistan and Iraq to reinforce active military forces. In addition to the 15 West Virginians who gave their lives in Afghanistan, another 24 soldiers and marines from our state lost their lives in the Iraq War. Virtually all elements of the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard were mobilized for at least one deployment to the Middle East.

National Guard To Provide Free Testing To Cabell, Kanawha, Marion and Monongalia Counties

In its first round of free testing aimed at reaching the state’s minority populations, the West Virginia National Guard tested at least 2,388 people in four densely populated communities.

Members of a 12 member task force addressing racial disparities in COVID-19 cases say that with more notice they hope to generate an even larger turnout this weekend, when the guard again offers testing in another four counties.

The National Guard plans to provide more free testing to residents in Cabell, Kanawha, Marion and Monongalia counties on Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23. No proof of insurance is required.

Jill Upson directs the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, a state agency focusing on minority issues, and she chairs the commission. She said Monday she plans to announce specific testing site addresses on Tuesday.

The West Virginia National Guard tested 1,620 people in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in the Eastern Panhandle from May 15 to May 16, according to preliminary remarks from Secretary Bill Crouch with the state Department of Health and Human Resources during a virtual press conference on Monday. The Guard also tested 768 people in Mercer and Raleigh counties in southern West Virginia.

Crouch reported 33.8 percent of the people tested in Raleigh County on Friday were black, as were 36.2 percent of those tested the same day in Mercer County. Later, DHHR spokesperson Allison Adler clarified this data is incomplete and preliminary, as the agency continues to receive more data from the weekend.

During the advisory commission’s first meeting on May 11, state epidemiologist Sarah Sanders said 7.3 percent of the state’s positive cases are from the African American community, a group that, according to 2018 Census data, only accounted for 4.2 percent of the state’s total population.

Several commissioners from the advisory group said Monday they felt the state National Guard announced the locations too late in the week to give people enough time to attend.

The Guard didn’t announce the counties until Thursday, and even then it didn’t have specific locations yet.

“Better communication is key,” said Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, one commissioner. “If you’re going to have something on a Saturday, I think it’s highly inappropriate to let them know on a Thursday.”

In the Eastern Panhandle, state Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said locally elected officials, like mayors, later reached out to her about the lack of coordination.

“I’m not saying we need their permission, necessarily, but it makes sense to include them,” Rucker said. “Because they’ll know they’re communities in a way the national guard can’t.”

With more notice this time around, commission members serving the upcoming testing counties say they are eager to spread the word.

“And the best way to do that is to educate people,” said Romelia Hodges, a Marion County resident and another commissioner. “It’s to let them know this is free. And to be transparent with them: you are going to need an ID. You are going to need a proof of residency.”

Hodges spoke to the Charleston Gazette-Mail about an outbreak of coronavirus that affected her community, killing two people. According to DHHR data Monday afternoon, half of Marion County’s 48 cases were black residents, which only accounted for three percent of the county’s population in population estimates from the 2018 census.

“We were pretty much looked at as disposable at that point in time,” Hodges said. “We were losing lives, and no one on the state level was paying attention to us. There was a lot of heartache and a lot of pain that was happening in the African American community.”

Hodges said she is stressing testing as a “civic duty” to her neighbors and others in her community who might be asymptomatic, to mitigate further spread of the coronavirus.

In Charleston, Rev. James Patterson, also on the commission, said as the group continues to meet twice a week, and as more testing is made available to populations with a need, he expects the process will continue to evolve.

He said local health organizations are in the process of partnering with more churches in Charleston, to offer similarly free, accessible testing. After the pandemic, he said he hopes the state will continue tackling the issues that place African Americans and other minority groups at a disadvantage in public health crises.

“What we’re really dealing with is the social determinants of health,” Patterson said. “Those are the real factors that have produced this particular disparity, and they will continue to produce disparities even after this pandemic is over. We’re still going to have the disparities we have now.”

The COVID-19 Advisory Commission on African American Disparities meets virtually with state health officials on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:30 a.m., according to Upson.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

Coronavirus Testing Set At W.Va. Poultry Processing Plant

This is a developing story and may be udpated.

The West Virginia National Guard began conducting tests for COVID-19 this week at a poultry processing plant in Moorefield, Hardy County. According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the number of positive tests in the county have increased recently.

In a virtual press conference Friday, Gov. Jim Justice said members of the National Guard would be sent to Moorefield to respond to testing needs at Pilgrim’s Pride, a chicken processing plant that’s the largest employer in the county.

Testing at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant of about 940 workers in Moorefield will occur on every shift, Hardy County sheriff’s office spokesman David Maher said in a news release. The office is handling media requests for the health department.

“We appreciate the ongoing cooperation of Pilgrim’s Pride and the many folks in our community that work in the processing plant,” said Hardy County Health Department administrator William Ours in a prepared statement. “We have a shared goal of keeping everyone healthy and ensuring the ongoing safe operation of our food processing facilities.”

Pilgrim’s Pride spokeswoman Nikki Richardson said in a statement that workers at the plant will have a “choice” to be tested.

“The health and safety of our team members remains our highest priority. We have implemented a wide of [sic] range of measures at our facility to combat coronavirus,” Richardson said. “Today, every Pilgrim’s facility temperature checks 100 percent of the workforce before they enter a facility. We also provide and require face masks to be worn at all times on company property.”

She also said the company will not punish workers for not coming into work for health reasons.

The sheriff’s office spokesman, David Maher, said he thinks there “were a few cases related to the plant” but he did not elaborate, and Pilgrim’s won’t say either.

Richardson said some Pilgrim’s Pride employees across the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19, but that “out of respect for the families, we are not releasing further information.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hardy County jumped from three on April 27 to 16 as of Monday morning, according to DHHR’s coronavirus tracker and the Hardy County Health Department’s Facebook page.

Meat processing plant workers are an especially vulnerable population during this crisis. Thousands of workers have tested positive for the coronavirus at meat processing plants across the country leading to the closure of some plants and prompting meat shortages.

Gov. Jim Justice requested the tests at the Moorefield plant, which remains open.

“We’re going to do some extensive testing there and try to nip that in the bud and stop it as fast as we possibly can in order to be able to keep that plant moving,” Justice said Friday.

Additionally, the National Guard will also be helping the local Hardy County Health Department with contact tracing and recommendations for self-isolation.

At least 54 people in West Virginia have died from the virus and 1,366 have tested positive, according to DHHR on Monday morning.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. For most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks.