MONROE — Nine residents tested positive for COVID-19 at Green County's county-owned nursing home in the past week.
All nine residents are in stable condition and have been moved to the segregated COVID-19 isolation wing at Pleasant View Skilled Nursing and Rehab.
The facility announced the outbreak in a press release Dec. 2.
One of the residents tested positive the week of Nov. 23. The other eight were living together in one of Pleasant View's four units and tested positive during testing conducted Nov. 27 and Nov. 30.
"They feel tired but (are) otherwise fine. One of the residents has some mild congestion," the press release stated. The plan is for each resident who tested positive to remain in isolation for treatment and monitoring "until a full recovery has been made, and after healthcare professionals have deemed it safe for their return to their previous room."
Contact tracing has identified no conclusive findings for the source of the outbreak, said Pleasant View Administrator Terry Snow. Nursing home staff are working with Green County Public Health.
RoAnn Warden, director of Green County Public Health, confirmed that contact tracing has not identified a specific source for the outbreak.
"We have a high degree of disease transmission in our community, but there was no isolated situation," Warden said. She said she's been pleased with how Pleasant View is handling the outbreak.
It is the first nursing home outbreak in the county of more than one or two cases, Warden said.
According to the latest announcement from Pleasant View, one staff member tested positive at the end of October and testing during the week of Nov. 16 identified two more positive staff members.
Since March, Pleasant View has limited resident visitation to "compassion visits and end-of-life visits" that are held near the facility's entrance for safety. Other protective measures include monitoring all residents for signs and symptoms of illness and screening all employees prior to the start of their shifts for signs and symptoms of illness, including recording their temperature and oxygen levels.
High traffic areas are sanitized every three hours and safe distancing is practiced with no large group gatherings, the nursing home reports.
"The well-being 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 and on our Facebook page to inform the public of our progress. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers," Snow said in a statement.
