City, County Meet on COVID-19 Response

The Emergency Operations Center located at Metro 911 is currently on standby in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials met today, led by City of Charleston Director of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Mark Strickland and Kanawha County Director of Homeland Security & Emergency Management C.W. Sigman to provide updates and discuss further action plans in response to COVID-19. The group was comprised of government, emergency services, health and community officials. At this time, there are no confirmed cases in the State of West Virginia.

"We continue to work directly with our first responders to make sure that we have the supplies that we need and can provide rapid response to potential cases of COVID-19,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “Today’s meeting gave us the opportunity to provide outreach to organizations across Kanawha County and learn about the areas with the most need. We are working in tandem with the Unified Health Command to create action plans that will make sure essential services continue and the public is informed.”

Commission President Kent Carper stated, “Our First Responders are dedicated to ensuring that the public is protected and our at-risk population throughout the County is taken care of during this pandemic that has affected the United States. While there have been no confirmed cases in, 2 West Virginia, at this time, we feel that it is prudent that we continue to prepare to make sure the community is protected.”

“I met with our Emergency Response Team at the Emergency Operations Center today and they are doing everything they can to prepare our community for the potential affect of COVID-19 to our community. We continue to take all of the necessary precautions and are working to keep the public informed,” stated Commissioner Ben Salango.

"Today, groups from throughout the county met to further solidify plans to respond to COVID19,” said City of Charleston Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Mark Strickland. “The Unified Health Command, that was established on Friday, will continue to meet and work together to make sure that we are preparing our first responders, as well as the general public, for this pandemic.”

Throughout the day, officials coordinated with local nursing homes, hospitals and representatives that work with the homeless population to identify supply levels and areas of need.

C.W. Sigman, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Kanawha County stated, “When our agencies can all come together to protect the community, we accomplish the coordination of resources and identify the needs of our at-risk population. We will continue to plan and coordinate efforts to protect the Kanawha Valley.”

Organizations represented in today’s meeting included the City of Charleston, Kanawha County, Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, Charleston Police Department, Charleston Fire Department, Kanawha Valley Collective, American Red Cross and Metro 911.

At this time, the Unified Health Command at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department will continue to operate Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For questions regarding COVID-19, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is available by phone 24-hours a day at 304-348-1088.