COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice reports West Virginia has set the national standard for nursing home testing

​CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice joined West Virginia health leaders and other officials today for his latest daily press briefing regarding the State’s COVID-19 response.

WEST VIRGINIA SETS NATIONAL STANDARD FOR NURSING HOME TESTING
More than six weeks after Gov. Justice made West Virginia the first state in the nation to order the testing of all nursing home residents and employees statewide, Gov. Justice announced Tuesday that leaders with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to governors in all 50 states across America, calling on them to focus their COVID-19 testing efforts on nursing homes and other vulnerable communities. 

Gov. Justice’s directive for the full testing of the state’s nursing homes came on April 17, 2020 – 44 days before the letter was sent.

Click here to view the letter

“I’ve already written on the letter ‘already done,’” Gov. Justice said. “Remember West Virginia, you were the first to do it. We ran to the fire. I commend all those that were involved in helping us pull off all that testing. I’m proud of you, West Virginia.”

In addition to the full testing of nursing homes, Gov. Justice also ordered the testing of all daycares, assisted living facilities, and residential care communities statewide on May 6. Additionally, on May 28, Gov. Justice ordered the testing of all inmates and employees at West Virginia’s correctional facilities.

FREE COMMUNITY TESTING REMINDER: HARRISON, MCDOWELL, AND OHIO COUNTIES
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Justice offered a reminder that free community COVID-19 testing will be provided this Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, in Harrison, McDowell, and Ohio counties.

The effort is part of a plan to provide free optional testing to all residents in several counties that are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 transmission. It targets residents who have struggled to be seen by a physician or do not have insurance to pay for testing. However, other residents, including those who are asymptomatic are welcome to be tested.

Testing is scheduled as follows:

Harrison County
Friday, June 5 & Saturday, June 6
Monticello Playground, 518 Monticello Avenue, Clarksburg, WV 26201

Ohio County
Friday, June 5 & Saturday, June 6
Laughlin Chapel, 129 ½ 18th Street, Wheeling, WV 26003

McDowell County
Friday, June 5
Tug River Health Clinic, 5883 Black Diamond Highway, Gary, WV 24836
Saturday, June 6
City Hall, 32509 Coal Heritage Road, Keystone, WV 24852

WEST VIRGINIA STRONG – THE COMEBACK  |  SAFER AT HOME ORDER
Week 6 of the Gov. Justice reopening plan – West Virginia Strong – The Comeback – is now underway and announcements regarding future reopenings have been made. The Governor's new Safer At Home order is also in effect. Click on the links to read more:

AMSTED INDUSTRIES INVESTMENT IN WEST VIRGINIA
Gov. Justice took time out of Tuesday’s briefing to announce that Amsted Industries has recently become the majority owner of Advanced Graphite Materials (AGM), located in Clarksburg. Amsted Industries will expand the production of synthetic graphite at the existing site, enabling U.S. companies to access a domestic, high-grade graphite material for use in products such as electric vehicle batteries and missile systems.

“This investment in West Virginia is unbelievable news,” Gov. Justice said. “Amsted Industries brings more than 100 years of global manufacturing excellence to our state. They are making a statement to the world that West Virginia is on the move and an excellent place to do business and manufacture products.”

This new venture ensures a domestic supply chain for synthetic graphite for critical sectors of the U.S. economy. Amsted plans to increase synthetic graphite production at the site in the coming years, generating jobs and creating the first fully-integrated producer of anode grade materials based in the United States.

Click here to read more

DATA UPDATE
Gov. Justice provided another overview of statewide data on COVID-19, highlighting that West Virginia’s daily percentage of positive test results dropped to 0.21 percent, while the state’s cumulative percentage of positive test results also dropped to 2.03 percent, the lowest marks in these categories since the recent spike in cases at Huttonsville Correctional Center and Jail.

“That’s exactly what we want to see,” Gov. Justice said. “All of this is moving exactly how we want this to move and that’s really good.”

West Virginia continues to excel in several metrics compared to its surrounding states and the national average. View the latest COVID-19 data at Coronavirus.wv.gov.

CITY AND COUNTY GRANT APPLICATION REMINDER
The Governor once again offered a reminder that the State recently sent out the application for cities and counties throughout West Virginia to apply for funding through the federal CARES Act.

A new web portal is now available for city and county government officials to apply for this grant funding, at grants.wv.gov. Interested parties can also call the helpline: 1-833-94-GRANT.

“We’ve now received 17 applications, but I would like it even more if we had 170 applications,” Gov. Justice said. “Please keep applying and we’ll keep pumping the money out as fast as we can.

“It just puts more and more money into West Virginia’s economy,” Gov. Justice continued. “It helps our cities and it helps our counties, so please keep applying.”

WEST VIRGINIANS URGED TO PARTICIPATE IN CENSUS
Once more today, Gov. Justice asked all West Virginians to participate in the 2020 United States Census.

Every West Virginian who does not respond to the Census represents a loss of $20,000 in federal funds over the next 10 years for the state and its local communities. The funds can go toward things like healthcare, education, infrastructure, school lunch programs, and more.

Be counted in minutes: 2020census.gov.

WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD HELPS CONDUCT TESTING ON RETURNING STATE POLICE CADETS
During his remarks Tuesday, Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard, announced that the WVNG yesterday supported the West Virginia State Police by helping test all cadets returning to the academy for training.

Maj. Gen. Hoyer reported that 75 cadets and staff members from 24 counties across the state were tested. All of these tests came back negative.

Additionally, Maj. Gen. Hoyer announced that the WVNG will be providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to members of the West Virginia Division of Corrections as they begin to test all correctional facilities in the state, per Gov. Justice’s recent directive to do so.

Click here to read more about the WVNG’s response efforts

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Click here to view all Executive Orders and other actions taken by Gov. Justice to combat the spread of COVID-19 in West Virginia.

For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, call the State’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or visit Coronavirus.wv.gov.