Coronavirus hits small North Carolina rest home with 24 cases among residents and staff
A small assisted-living facility in Northampton County is dealing with a coronavirus outbreak that has caused nearly all of the 22 residents and three staff to test positive for COVID-19, a member of the staff confirmed.
The rural county in the northeastern part of North Carolina reported a spike of 20 cases Saturday, plus one more case Sunday, bringing the total in the county to 26, according to a news release. Health officials said all but one of the positive cases come from the same facility, according to the release.
Andy Smith, the county’s health director, would not name the facility because of federal medical privacy laws, but said Sunday all but one resident have tested positive for COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus. Smith said Sunday that eight staff members have tested negative for the virus.
A staff member at the Pine Forest Rest Home in Potecasi confirmed the outbreak after one of the resident’s family members wrote about the outbreak on Facebook.
“They are doing fine,” the employee told The News & Observer in a phone interview. “We’re just keeping them quarantined in their rooms.”
The News & Observer is not naming the staff member, who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the facility.
The home administrator did not respond to several calls from The News & Observer.
Pine Forest Rest Home has room for 24 residents, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Smith said Sunday the majority of the cases have been “extremely mild with many being completely asymptomatic.” Those asymptomatic include all three staff, who have been isolated, he said.
Three residents were initially taken to a hospital for observation, Smith said, but are in the process of being discharged.
Northampton County has roughly 20,000 residents in the northeastern part of the state on the North Carolina-Virginia border.
The county’s first case was reported Monday, March 23. The case is not linked to the facility and is an individual who traveled out of state and is currently being isolated at home, health officials said in a news release.
On Sunday, the health department announced a 26th case, which isn’t related to the first case, nor the nursing home cases. The person was tested by a private provider, according to the department’s Facebook page. The person is “doing well.”
On Sunday, Smith said if the first two people who tested positive a week ago – one staffer and one resident – continue to show no signs of the disease by Monday, they will be considered fully recovered.
Smith said the preliminary investigation suggests the virus may have spread after one of the residents transferred in from another facility. He declined to name that facility but said it is in another state. He and other health officials have reached out to the facility.
“It’s our understanding they have begun their investigation by doing testing,” Smith said. “We will follow up with them later to see how their investigation is going.”
He said the Northampton County health department has tracked down everyone who has had potential contact with those who have tested positive.
“I can tell you honestly we have identified every single person, and everybody is going to be tested by tomorrow,” Smith said.
All adult care facilities in the county have been barring visitors since March 10 as a precaution, Smith said, which was 12 days before the first signs of the virus emerged at the home.
The facility’s staff member said it has been difficult at the home with three staff not working and in isolation. But the community has been helping by dropping off food.
“It’s not easy,” the staff member said. “We’re really tired, but we are doing the best we can.”
North Carolina surpassed 1,100 COVID-19 cases Sunday in more than 70 counties.
A stay-at-home order takes effect in North Carolina Monday at 5 p.m.
This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Coronavirus hits small North Carolina rest home with 24 cases among residents and staff."