10 more nursing home residents positive for virus
Published 11:24 am Friday, June 5, 2020
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Ten more residents of the Fountain Circle nursing home in Clark County have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases of the often deadly virus confirmed in the county to 63, the Clark County Health Department reported Thursday.
Those residents range in age from 50 to 91 years old, according to an email from Becky Kissick, the county’s public health director.
She said all of the residents with the virus are isolated within the facility in accordance with Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
In addition to the residents who were reported Thursday, an additional employee of the facility, a 22-year-old woman, has also tested positive.
“The Health Department is working with the state Department for Public Health and the facility to ensure … the health and wellbeing of all residents and employees,” Kissick said. “Additional details about these individuals cannot be provided duee to medical privacy laws.”
The Health Department is currently working 43 active cases out of the 63 positive cases identified in the county.
Reported coronavirus cases in Clark County had been declining until May 18, when Signature HealthCARE, the parent company of Fountain Circle, and the Health Department first reported that 13 residents and five staff members had tested positive. Since then, the number of residents and employees of the nursing home with the virus has steadily increased.
According to the nursing home’s daily recorded message Thursday, a total of 32 residents and 12 staff members have tested positive for the virus. None of them have died or recovered. Relatives and others may call (859) 349-0518 to hear the daily report from the nursing home.
In press releases, Signature HealthCARE has stated that the large number of cases reported at the nursing home are not the result of an “outbreak,” but of a proactive approach to test everyone at the facility.
Between April 29 and May 17, there had been no new reports of coronavirus cases in Clark County, and since then, most of the new cases reported have involved Fountain Circle residents and staff.
According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, prior to the May 18 report, two other employees of the nursing home had tested positive for the virus.
According to Ann Bowdan Wilder, a spokeswoman for Signature HealthCARE, steps the company has taken to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus include isolating patients, strictly limiting visits to the facility, testing and screening, employing an infectious disease physician and, recently, testing for coronavirus antibodies and antigens.
Kentucky has had 10,705 cases of the coronavirus, including 295 new ones reported Thursday by Gov. Andy Beshear in his daily press briefing. He also reported eight new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 458.