City, County ask WV DHHR to open State Laboratory 24/7

Today, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and Kanawha County Commissioners Kent Carper, Henry C. Shores and Ben Salango sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch and Dr. Cathy Slemp with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources asking that the State Laboratory be open 24/7 to test possible COVID-19 samples. Dr. Sherri Young of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department asked that this change happen in an email dated March 16, 2020. Currently, the lab is still staffed from only 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and limited hours on the weekends. 

“We need the State Lab open 24/7 so that we can quickly respond and slow the spread of COVID-19. The City of Charleston and Kanawha County take this pandemic very seriously. Before we had our first case we opened our Emergency Operations Center in order to get a head start in ordering supplies, preparing our first responders and communicating with the public,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “We need all of the tools in our toolbox right now to make sure we are doing everything that we can to flatten the curve.” 

Commissioner Ben Salango commented, “Those who are being tested for COVID-19 deserve to have their results as quickly as possible and rapid testing is needed. Right now the lack of the availability of the State Lab is completely unacceptable. This is a disservice to the community and those who are potentially affected. The State Lab needs to be opened 24/7 and our citizens need their results so that proper protocol can be followed.”

For the latest CDC guidelines, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.