May 8th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The Cumberland Times News reports as the number of cases of COVID-19 in Hardy County rose to 13 Friday, Gov. Jim Justice said during a press conference Friday that the West Virginia National Guard was headed to the Pilgrim's Pride chicken processing plant in Moorefield after unconfirmed reports of cases at the facility.  "… the National Guard is on the way there now and we're going to do some extensive testing there and try to nip that in the bud and stop it as fast as we possibly can in order to be able to keep that plant moving and all happening as it should," he said .  The plant employs about 1,000 people. "The Pilgrim's Pride poultry processing plant in Moorefield was listed by the West Virginia governor's office today as a site that requires screening and testing of all plant workers for COVID-19," said David Maher, public information officer for the Hardy County Sheriff's Office in an email. Mayer said the Guard will be assisting in a medical support role to help test the large number of employees.