This story was originally published Sept. 30 and updated Oct. 1 with the latest COVID-19 statistics.
MONROE — Testing this week has confirmed a COVID-19 outbreak at Pleasant View Skilled Nursing and Rehab, the county-owned nursing home just north of Monroe.
Two residents and three staff tested positive for COVID-19 during a round of testing at the facility Sept. 28, according to a Sept. 30 news release from Pleasant View.
Neither resident is showing signs or symptoms of illness. They have been transferred from their rooms into a room in a nine-bed COVID-19 isolation wing that Pleasant View has had ready for months. The wing is segregated from the rest of the nursing home. The residents will stay on the isolation unit until fully recovered and medically cleared to return.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic over six months ago, a handful of Pleasant View employees have previously also tested positive and been quarantined, but this marks the first positive cases confirmed among the nursing home's residents.
Nursing homes have been under a federal directive to do proactive testing on a schedule. All residents and all staff tested negative for COVID-19 during the last round of testing at Pleasant View, on Sept. 21. The facility has been working with Green County Public Health to continue a plan for regular testing and close monitoring of residents and staff in an effort to control the potential for further spread of the disease.
"The wellbeing of all of our residents and staff is our number one priority. We are notifying the appointed contact for each resident and will keep them informed while safeguarding private healthcare information. We will be posting updates on our website to inform the public of our progress. Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers," Terry Snow, Pleasant View administrator, said in a statement.
Since March, Pleasant View reports following federal and state guidelines for COVID-19 protective measures, including monitoring residents for signs and symptoms of illness, screening employees prior to the start of their shift for signs and symptoms of illness and recording their temperature and oxygen stats. All staff wear a mask while on duty. High traffic areas are sanitized every three hours.
News of the outbreak comes as COVID-19 is surging locally and across the state.
Both Monroe High School and Monroe Middle School have switched to online learning through at least Oct. 9 due to positive cases among staff and students.
Also on Sept. 30, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services launched new data dashboards designed to give Wisconsinites "a better picture of the impact of COVID-19 in our state" and guidance on mitigation strategies for communities.
Both Green and Lafayette counties have "very high" COVID-19 disease activity levels, with case burden rates higher than most surrounding counties, including Dane County.
As of Sept. 30, confirmed active cases in Green County reached 105, the highest yet. Three people are hospitalized. The total number of Green County residents to test positive so far is 564. Three residents have died from COVID-19.
The positive testing rate, based on test data from the previous two weeks, has been hovering around 12%, which Green County Public Health Director RoAnn Warden calls "alarming."
Lafayette County reports 335 total confirmed cases as of Sept. 30, with 101 active — also the highest number of active cases the county has ever seen. In addition, the county health department reports nine probable cases of COVID-19. It defines a probable case as a person who is at high risk for COVID-19 infection, such as a healthcare worker, who has a positive antigen test and clinical criteria of infection.
