Multiple deaths from COVID-19 at West Virginia VA hospital

by: Associated Press

Posted: May 11, 2020 / 10:17 AM EDT / Updated: May 11, 2020 / 10:17 AM 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)

MARTINSBURG, WV (AP) – At least four people have died from the coronavirus at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says the deaths have occurred at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The facility has 19 active cases of COVID-19, including seven veterans, 11 employees, and one veteran employee.

Overall, the four VA facilities in West Virginia have had at least 61 confirmed virus cases, including 49 in Martinsburg, according to the VA website. Those facilities currently have a combined 22 active cases.