An image of the coronavirus from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Long-term care facilities continue to drive Covid-related death rates in Marion County with two facilities reporting new outbreaks in the last week, according to a report issued weekly by the Oregon Health Authority on the outbreak.
Salem Farmington Square in south Salem reported 13 residents sick with Covid and five staff who have tested positive, the facility said in a statement. One person has died.
The letter said the facility was notified a caregiver tested positive on June 22 and subsequently tested all exposed employees and residents who worked in that cottage. Those tests came back negative.
On July 6, the facility started testing all residents and staff.
“Since July 13, 2020, we have received results of 13 positive residents isolated to one cottage, and 5 positive staff member tests. We are awaiting final testing information,” the statement said.
The facility is isolating all residents who have tested positive to one building which includes a safety vestibule for staff to take off protective gear safely.
The statement said the facility started limiting visitations on March 5 and further limited visitation to medical professionals on March 11.
The facility was cited by the state Department of Human Services 28 times in 2019, mostly for failing to follow care plans. In April 2019 the facility was put on notice for failing to protect a resident from inappropriate sexual contact.
Tree Lane Group Home in Marion County also reported four cases after seeing its first case on June 11.
Marion County has now reported 1,984 people sick with the virus since early March, with 56 deaths. Polk County has 184 cases and 12 deaths. The report also provided updates on earlier outbreaks and long-term care facilities.
Brookstone Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in south Salem saw two additional people die in the last week, making it the deadliest outbreak locally with 13 deaths.
The facility, which is licensed for 57 beds, has the largest active outbreak at a care facility in Salem and the second-largest in Oregon with 65 cases.
Last week, Brookstone administrator Brandy Khlystov said that after recent testing there were only nine positive cases. Khlystov couldn’t be reached for comment about the most recent number Wednesday afternoon.
Hidden Lakes Independent Living in south Salem reported one additional case in the last week, bringing its total to four.
Boone Ridge Senior Living and The Springs at Willow Creek, both in Salem, didn’t report any additional cases in the last week, and remain at six and 22 cases, respectively. Avamere Court at Keizer has two cases.
Marion County saw one additional workplace outbreak reported in the last week.
Anderson Hay and Grain Co. Inc. in Aurora reported five cases since the Oregon Health Authority started investigating the outbreak on July 6.
Heidi Nollan, director of human resources at Anderson Hay, said the business shut down its facility on Friday to do intensive cleaning. She said they don’t know when they’ll reopen.
The Oregon State Penitentiary continues to lead in workplace outbreaks across the state with 184 cases reported, one additional case from the week prior.
MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn last week reported a new outbreak after a previous outbreak in May, with eight cases, was resolved. An outbreak is considered resolved if no new cases surface in the 28 days after the most recent person began showing symptoms.
MacLaren’s new outbreak remains unchanged from five cases reported last week.
Truitt Bros. in west Salem and BrucePac in Silverton didn’t report any additional cases in the last week and remain at five and 10 cases, respectively.
The Amazon fulfillment center in Salem, Salem Hospital and Norpac didn’t report any additional cases in the last week and remain at 11, 17 and 15, respectively.
SUPPORT ESSENTIAL REPORTING FOR SALEM – A subscription starts at $5 a month for around-the-clock access to stories and email alerts sent directly to you. Your support matters. Go HERE.
Have a story tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara.
