By Joe Severino, Charleston Gazette-Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sundale Nursing Home, “ground zero” for West Virginia’s coronavirus outbreak, was bustling Monday afternoon.
Nurses and aides wearing masks were clocking out. Some headed to their cars carrying boxes from Pizza Al’s, a local staple. The next shift’s workers were clocking in; some helped tie each other’s masks before heading through the front door. Morgantown residents came, too, dropping off lasagna, sides and sweet tea.
Some staffers were working 16-hour rotations. Just eight days earlier, the first positive COVID-19 case was announced at the facility. Dr. Carl Shrader, Sundale’s medical director, said those eight days — during which the total number of cases ballooned to 29 — were spent screening patients, isolating the infected and coordinating efforts with local hospitals.
Nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and retirement communities across the country have feared outbreaks within their walls. A Seattle-area nursing home where 35 deaths are linked to the virus is a model for the worst of those fears.
The initial case at Sundale was West Virginia’s first community-spread infection — meaning the source of the infection was unknown. This spawned new problems and deeper anxiety. …
