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Number of positive coronavirus cases rises to 53 at Pinehurst nursing home
jhenderson@fayobserver.com
CARTHAGE — The number of people who live or work at a Pinehurst nursing home who have tested positive for the coronavirus rose to 53 on Thursday, including 45 residents and eight employees, according to the Moore County Health Department.
Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday announced mandatory steps that nursing homes across the state must take to try to protect residents and employees from the virus.
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On Wednesday, the Health Department reported 31 confirmed coronavirus cases at Pinehurst Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center.
But as of Thursday afternoon, the Health Department said the number had increased to 53.
All of the test results are not yet in. The nursing home has 96 residents and 115 staff members.
Van Bergstrom, the administrator of Pinehurst Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, said the well being of residents and staff are the company's top priority.
"We are doing everything we can to ensure that we stop the further spread of COVID-19 within our community and to closely monitor and care for our residents," Bergstrom said. "We remain in very close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking all of the appropriate steps."
He added that although they are certainly distressed by these test results, the nursing home will "work diligently" for the well being of its residents.
"Please know that we are strictly adhering to all directions from the local and state health departments," he said. "We will continue to provide updates as they become available."
In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Cooper announced a new executive order that has the force of law requiring nursing homes to take certain steps to protect residents and employees.
"The second part of this order includes mandatory protective orders for nursing homes that had previously been recommended just as guidance," Cooper said. "It prevents dining and group activities in common spaces. It requires face masks for employees, and it also requires nursing homes to screen employees and residents for symptoms of sickness."
He said the state is focusing efforts on congregate-care institutions "since the nature of the virus makes them easy targets for outbreaks."
More than 20 nursing homes in the state have had at least two or more cases of the virus, including one in Orange County where there are more than 60 cases.
In a news conference Wednesday, Cooper said the state is ready to test people in nursing homes if there are signs the virus might have cropped up.
"We've accumulated enough testing supplies to respond quickly and aggressively to assess patients and staff in these situations," Cooper said. "This is important because we know that this virus can spread even before a person is showing symptoms like a fever or a cough. This increased testing will tell us which employees or residents may have the virus but aren't showing symptoms so that they can be isolated."
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said during Wednesday's news conference that her agency is working with its partners, nursing home industry associations and health departments on prevention and response actions.
She said a previous executive order by Cooper limited visitors to nursing homes except in life-or-death situations.
"But now we need to go further," she said, adding that the state is requiring nursing homes to notify local health departments when there are new or suspected cases of COVID-19.
"In addition to prevention, if an outbreak happens, quick and aggressive action must also follow," she said. "Facilities should implement immediately the testing and assessment of residents to determine the spread of the disease, and residents with COVID-19 should be grouped in a separate area of the facility to make sure they are cared for by a separate group of staff."
Residents of the Pinehurst nursing home who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been isolated from others, officials said.
None of the residents that have so far been diagnosed have exhibited severe symptoms or signs of respiratory distress, said Matt Garner, spokesman for the Moore County Health Department.
"We haven't had any kind of severe symptoms that have popped up," Garner said.
Garner said the PInehurst nursing home was taking steps to protect residents from the virus before Cooper announced his orders.
"They've been doing all those things, like screening the staff and doing all the infection control protocols," Garner said.
The facility was following all protocols from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All staff members of the Pinehurst facility were tested for the coronavirus but not all of the test results are in.
"The Health Department will report those results once they become available," a news release said. "All test results received are shared with the affected residents and their families. To protect privacy, no further information about the individuals who have tested positive will be shared by the Health Department."
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital will provide extended care to the facility's residents or staff should their symptoms require hospitalization, the release says.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at jhenderson@fayoberver.com or 910-486-3596.
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