Virus testing set at West Virginia poultry processing plant

by: JOHN RABY, Associated Press

Posted: May 10, 2020 / 03:56 PM EDT / Updated: May 10, 2020 / 03:56 PM EDT

FILE – This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)

CHARLESTON, WV (AP) – The West Virginia National Guard will assist in conducting tests for the coronavirus at a poultry processing plant in a small county where cases have increased.

Hardy County sheriff’s office spokesman David Maher says testing at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant of about 940 workers in Moorefield will occur on every shift Monday. Employees also will be screened for symptoms on a daily basis and between shifts.

Health officials have not disclosed whether there are any confirmed virus cases at the plant. The number of confirmed cases in the county has increased from three on April 27 to 16 as of Sunday.

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