Virus concerns close Greenbrier resort in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia governor’s lavish resort, which served as a secret Cold War-era bunker for the federal government, closed Thursday over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs said on its website that it shut down at noon Thursday and plans to reopen April 17. The decision was made on the advice of state and national officials.

Billionaire Republican Gov. Jim Justice bought The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009. He put his daughter in charge of the resort after he took office in 2017.

Buried 720 feet under the resort, the two-story bunker was finished in 1961 and was intended to house the U.S. Congress in the event of a military confrontation with the Soviet Union. The Greenbrier has since offered tours of the bunker.

It wasn’t known whether Greenbrier employees were being paid during the closing. A resort spokesman did not immediately return a message.

State officials say that, as of Wednesday, 148 people have been tested for the virus, with 143 negatives, three tests pending and two positive cases in the Eastern Panhandle county of Jefferson, and in Mercer County in the far southern part of the state.

Justice declared a state of emergency Monday. The next day he ordered bars, restaurants and casinos in the state to close for two weeks with the exception of carry-out and delivery food services, and expanded the closures Wednesday to include gyms, health clubs and recreation centers.

Schools statewide are closed until at least March 27, and state education officials said they’re canceling this year’s standardized tests.

The governor’s office also said the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration suspended existing rules and is now allowing bars and restaurants to sell to-go unopened beer and wine — but no liquor — to customers who have bought food.

West Virginia University Medicine on Wednesday opened drive-thru coronavirus testing sites for pre-screened patients in Morgantown, Parkersburg, Bridgeport, Wheeling and Martinsburg. The sites tested 166 people Wednesday, WVU medicine said in a news release. Results should be available in three-to-four days.

On Thursday, Marshall Health, Mountain Health Network and the Cabell-Huntington Health Department was opening a drive-thru testing center in Huntington.