W.Va. Guard update on COVID-19 response

Since beginning operations in support of the state’s COVID-19 response 28 days ago, the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) has completed 310 missions through our four lines of effort of operationalizing of the event, stabilizing the population, providing logistical movement of critical supplies and conducting data analysis to combat the virus. Currently, nearly 570 members of the (WVNG) are on duty serving the citizens of the State of West Virginia.

Since our last update, members of Task Force Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Enterprise (TF-CRE) supported the testing of 90 personnel for COVID-19 at the Wayne Continuous Care Center in Wayne County and also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) training for the staff of Eastbrook Center and delivered 60 Tyvek suits to the facility to address PPE needs. The suits are able to be decontaminated and will limit the amount of single-use PPE items needed at the facility.

TF-CRE provided training to 63 retail establishments, including Kroger’s in Charleston on proper cargo, box handling and PPE wear. Additionally, this team hosted the first decontamination training session with a hotelier in Cabins, West Virginia, and will expand training guidance on proper sanitation and best practices for the tourism industry and hotels next week, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

So far, TF-CRE has trained more than 250 stores and 930 personnel while also assisting with COVID-19 drive through testing lanes in Huntington, Grafton, Weston and Brooke County. Drive through testing support will expand to include Wyoming, Mingo, Logan, Williamson, and Hampshire by next week.

We have increased our number of personnel supporting the Workforce West Virginia mission to 23 and our service members are undergoing training to begin processing unemployment claims, which will start next week. Our number of support personnel will increase to 30 in the coming days.

The WVNG, in collaboration with the West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT) and Workforce West Virginia, are evaluating new technologies that will enhance customer service and create efficiencies in claims processing to further address the current backlog and streamline future processing for West Virginians.

Our communications staff have also been working with the Department of Health and Human Resources and WVOT to address and optimize benefits processing for SNAP and WIC recipients. A recent mainframe upgrade has resulted in faster processing and this team is looking at additional ways to increase capacity for the state.

Our mission of supporting the most vulnerable populations in the state continues to make an impact and in the last 24 hours we packed 216 family boxes and 360 supplemental boxes at the Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington and 1,813 meals at the Mountaineer Food Bank.

Task Force Sustainment, the team dedicated to moving critical PPE supplies and running supply chain logistics for COVID-19 response, delivered hand sanitizer to Yeager Airport and Alum Creek Volunteer Fire Department yesterday, on top of receiving PPE and developing distribution plans for the counties in need.

Our data analysts working with DHHR’s regional epidemiology teams were able to support 124 contact tracing engagements and 11 expedited specimen transfers 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.
• 38 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 23^rd and 24^th and in Charleston April 6^th, 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.
• 23 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 provided rewiring capabilities for St. Francis Hospital as it is transformed into an Alternate Care Site.
• 25 Soldiers assisted in the transfer of medical supplies and equipment from Fairmont to St. Francis Hospital to support a surge in COVID-19 patients, if needed, at the ACS.

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.