An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News
NEWS | April 7, 2020

W.Va. Guard update on COVID-19 response

By Maj. Holli Nelson West Virginia National Guard Public Affairs

Currently, nearly 520 members of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) are serving the State of West Virginia through our four lines of effort to include operationalizing of the event, stabilizing the population, providing logistical movement of critical supplies and conducting data analysis to combat the virus.

 

Since the announcement of the WVNG’s support to Workforce West Virginia by Governor Jim Justice, 15 service members are assisting to increase capacity for the state to process unemployment claims during this difficult time. By tomorrow, an additional 15 personnel will be on duty and we continue to expand call centers in the state to meet increasing demand for assistance.

 

Members of Task Force Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Enterprise (TF-CRE) continue to ramp up their efforts to provide training to local retail establishments on proper cargo, box handling and PPE wear in an effort to flatten the curve of COVID-19 spread. They will be providing training to 46 stores today in addition to the 23 stores trained yesterday. So far, this task force has trained 98 stores and 422 personnel while also assisting with COVID-19 drive through testing lanes and testing support at two nursing homes in Morgantown and Charleston since West Virginia’s response began in March. 

 

Our mission of supporting the most vulnerable populations in the state continues to make an impact and in the last 24 hours we packed 450 family boxes at the Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington and our refrigerated trucks assisted with the delivery of 3,035 meals to Wirt, Tyler, Pocahontas and Webster Counties. To date, WVNG personnel have assisted in packing and distributing 58,536 meals to those in need in the Mountain State.

 

Today, our logistics team is packaging and distributing hand sanitizer to areas in Southern West Virginia and yesterday, they delivered 330 gallons to Jackson, Kanawha and Cabell Counties. Today, our service members will being providing assistance at St. Francis Hospital in the conversion of space to support COVID-19 patients.

 

 

 

Our data analysts working with DHHR’s regional epidemiology teams were able to support 266 contact tracing engagements to track the spread of COVID-19 in West Virginia.

 

The WVNG has conducted the following missions since coming on duty to support the state in all aspects of COVID-19 preparation and response:

                                                             

  • Soldiers are providing assistance with food box building and distribution at with the Mountaineer Food Bank and the Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington.
  • WVNG medical personnel are supporting the COVID-19 hotline in Charleston, answering calls and providing information to concerned citizens.
  • 31 Liaison officers from the WVNG are working hand-in-hand with the various West Virginia agencies who are leading the response to COVID-19 to include the Department of Health and Human Resources, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and Department of Education.
  • The WVNG’s Task Force Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) Response Enterprise (TF-CRE) has provided instruction to more than 364 first responders, hospital staff, and retailers in order to help prepare them on how to minimize cross-contamination through proper wear of, “donning” and “doffing” of PPE. 
  • 14 Soldiers provided capabilities for conducting COVID-19 swabs in Morgantown March 23rd and 24th and in Charleston April 6th, utilizing PAPRs PPE that can be decontaminated and reused, greatly reducing the use of disposable, one-time-use PPE.
  • Soldiers continue to provide logistical support for delivery of PPE from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) and West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (WVDHSEM) to hospitals and health departments.
  • The WVNG has fielded a network of seven epidemiology teams to assist DHHR with COVID-19 tracking and analytics.
  • We continue to provide logistical pickup and transfer of PAPRs and canisters to various health care networks in the event of a surge of patients.
  • Soldiers are providing traffic control assistance to drive through testing facilities in Huntington, Grafton, and Lewis County.
  • 15 Soldiers are assisting Workforce West Virginia to increase capacity to process unemployment claims in the state.
  • Communications staff assisted in the testing of broadband access in underserved areas of West Virginia for telehealth initiatives and providing rewiring capabilities for St. Francis Hospital as portions of the hospital are converted to COVID-19 treatment areas.

 

All current and future missions performed by the WVNG are a part of a coordinated state-level public health preparation and response effort for the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, initiated by Governor Jim Justice, and being led by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

 

The West Virginia National Guard has a bench of nearly 6,400 experienced and proven Air and Army National Guard professionals who frequently train side-by-side with state and local emergency responders, making them well-suited for domestic operations.

 

Our National Guard members work and live in every community have a proven record of accomplishment supporting civilian authorities during and after homeland emergencies.

Updates

Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy - South graduates largest class ever

SPOTLIGHTS

There are no Photos available for 3/29/2024. Please see the News Photos overview page for more.