COVID-19 cases discovered in two residential care facilities

Published 10:56 am Monday, June 8, 2020

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There have been two recent ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at residential care facilities in Albemarle, according to a congregate living settings report from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Bethany Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center had one staff member and one resident recently test positive for the virus while Woodhaven Court had two staff members test positive. Neither facility have had any deaths.

According to a statement from Woodhaven, the two individuals last worked on May 20 and 21 and did not work while showing any symptoms. Both staff members self-quarantined, sought testing on their own and did not return to work after the first sign of symptoms. One individual resigned from the facility before receiving the diagnosis.

Out of an abundance of caution, all of the residents have been tested for COVID-19, and though all the results have not yet been returned, no residents have tested positive, the statement said.

Bethany did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Every Tuesday and Friday by 4 p.m., the state updates outbreaks in congregate living settings, which include nursing homes, residential care facilities and correctional facilities. An outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases.

NCDHHS also details a list of facilities that have already had outbreaks, which are now considered “over.” Spring Arbor of Albemarle, which had five residents and a staff member contract the virus, with three residents dying, was on the list.

“It is always hard for us to lose a member of our Spring Arbor family and we continue to do everything possible to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of our residents,” said Richard Williams, senior vice president of HHHunt, which owns Spring Arbor.

An outbreak is considered over “if there is not evidence of continued transmission within the facility.” It is measured as 28 days “after the latest date of onset in a symptomatic person or the latest date of specimen collection in an asymptomatic person, whichever is later.”

As of Monday morning, there have been 117 confirmed cases in the county, of which 45 are active, according to the health department. There have been four deaths.

 

 

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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