New COVID-19 Testing Requirements for Long Term Care Facilities

The West Virginia Bureau of Public Health (“BPH”) announced recently it will require weekly testing for any long-term care facility that experiences a single positive case of COVID-19.

According to a statement by Shannon McBee, Outbreak Epidemiologist with the Department of Health and Human Resources (“DHHR”), the weekly testing is to continue every seven days until testing identifies no new cases of COVID-19 infection among residents or healthcare personnel for a period of at least 14 days since the most recent positive result.

Once an outbreak occurs, the State’s Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (“DIDE”) and the DHHR Health Command will coordinate the weekly testing.

BPH based this new guidance on the latest testing recommendations for nursing homes from the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”). The CDC guidance is located here. The CDC notes the testing should be implemented in addition to the already recommended infection prevent and control programs.

Members of the Steptoe & Johnson coronavirus response team are available to answer questions. Please send inquiries to coronavirus.team@steptoe-johnson.com.

Click here to view our COVID-19 Nursing Home Resources Page.