Hours after Gov. Jim Justice mandated all nursing home residents and staffs be either tested or retested for COVID-19, a survey to begin the massive task was sent to nursing homes around the state.

That’s according to a news release from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources that said questionnaires were developed in partnership with the West Virginia Health Care Association to see how to “assist with the coordination of resources across the state.“

The executive order signed Friday by the governor says the state DHHR will set up the framework for how the testing will be done. It will be carried out with the help of the West Virginia National Guard and county health departments.

“We fully appreciate Governor Justice’s leadership during this state of emergency, especially when it comes to protecting some of our most vulnerable West Virginians,” said Bill J. Crouch, cabinet secretary of DHHR, in the news release.

“The partnership that DHHR has with the West Virginia National Guard is a good example of working together during a crisis with the ultimate goal of safety.”

The governor says he wants the testing done as soon as possible.

The move comes after comments from the governor at a news conference Thursday that he was not pleased with the testing process at a nursing facility in Jackson County. For more on that story:

No specific details were released.

"We're going to go back and we're going to test everybody. Every single person in every nursing home every resident as well as all the staff, Justice said during a news conference Friday morning, “and then we're going to log all this and we're going to get it done immediately and we're going to log all this information in so that we can better serve our most elderly and the people that have given us wisdom in many ways for decades and decades and we've got to do better to do that entire process than what has been done thus far."

Marty Wright, CEO of the West Virginia Health Care Association, released the following statement in a release:

“As the state’s trade association representing nursing homes, the West Virginia Health Care Association is supportive of Governor Justice and his efforts to have all nursing home residents and staff in the state tested for COVID-19. We appreciate and agree with his goals of consistency, transparency and above all else, safety of the residents and staff. With the issuance of his Executive Order, Governor Justice made West Virginia the first state in the nation to implement statewide testing of all nursing home residents and staff. As the details of the new testing initiative are finalized, our member facilities will continue to work closely with the Bureau for Public Health, National Guard, and their respective county health departments to care for and protect our residents and staff.”