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ELKINS -- A second free community COVID-19 testing event will be held in Randolph County, officials said this week, though details have not yet been announced.
The second wave of free testing was mentioned during this week's COVID-19 update conference call for county and city officials.
Bonnie Woodrum, threat preparedness specialist with the Randolph-Elkins Health Department, said during the call that she and Tracy Fath, vice president of marketing and planning for Davis Health System, will be organizing a second free community testing, tentatively scheduled for June 26. More details will be made available as plans are finalized, she said.
Within the community of Randolph County, four cases of coronavirus are currently active and all are self-quarantined, Woodrum said, noting Huttonsville Correctional Center currently has three inmates in quarantine.
"They had four units on quarantine because of the exposure and they are being screened twice a day, as are the three pending isolated patients," said Woodrum. "For the rest of the population, we've reduced the screening to twice a week because there haven't been any cases in the staff or the inmates from those other areas."
"I want to caution people to pay attention. Just because we don't have a large outbreak within the community doesn't mean it's not possible. We now have people coming into our communities from other areas," she said.
"When we wear masks, we have a tendency to touch them and we touch other things… When you take your mask off, you put your hands on your face," Woodrum said. "I would caution you to be strict with hand sanitizing or with hand washing. Soap and water's the best but sanitizer is the next best. We don't want any outbreaks within our community."
During the conference call, Cody Thompson, D-Randolph 43, also reminded city and county officials that funding from the CARES Act was still available.
"We are really encouraging cities and counties to apply for the CARES Act funding. So far they've sent out $6.3 million and that money can be used for any city, municipality of county," said Thompson. "Any expenses that were incurred to them that were unexpected due to COVID-19 could potentially be reimbursed."
Tina Owens of the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management reminded local leaders about the importance of stocking up on personal protective equipment during the call.
"Agencies need to be ordering supplies from their vendors," Owens said. "(There's) talk that the social distancing and use of PPE's could last up to June of 2021. It will take laboratories up to 12-18 months to find a vaccination. Don't take this lightly. Stay safe, wash your hands frequently and avoid large crowds."
West Virginia has reported a total of 2,341 cases and 88 deaths, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. Randolph County has had 141 confirmed cases, according to the state Department of Health & Human Resources, while Barbour County has had 10, Tucker County five, Upshur County six, Grant County 15, Hardy County 40, Pendleton 11, and Pocahontas 20.
Tygarts Valley Regional Jail has distributed 513 COVID-19 tests to staff and inmates of the facility, officials said.
One of those cases came back positive as of Monday and 18 were still reported pending, officials said.
The next OEM call for Randolph County stakeholders will take place at 1 p.m. on June 22.