UPDATE: MONDAY, APRIL 6, 9:30 a.m. ...
Officials with the California Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Sunday night that another staff member at their Redding veterans home has tested positive for the coronavirus. They said they’re also waiting for test results from an additional staff member who showed COVID-19 symptoms.
If both tests come back positive, that would mean a total of four staff members at the Redding retirement facility have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks.
So far, none of the elderly residents of the 155-bed facility are showing symptoms of COVID-19, according to an agency statement.
They say they’re taking strict precautions to prevent infection, because of the heightened risk of spreading COVID-19 to residents at the veterans home.
ORIGINAL POST:
An employee of a Redding home for veterans tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus on Tuesday. According to officials, they haven’t found any cases in elderly residents of the home.
The California Department of Veterans Affairs says the employee was last at the Redding veterans home on March 26th. That person has been isolating themselves at home since testing positive for the virus.
CalVet officials say none of the elderly residents of the 155-bed facility have tested positive. But the staff member in Redding is the second employee associated with that facility to get COVID-19.
The first was a “permanent intermittent employee” who tested positive for the virus and was last at the veterans home on March 14, according to documents provided by CalVet. Symptoms for COVID-19 typically appear within two weeks of exposure, suggesting no residents acquired the virus.
“Our communicable disease team has been working closely with the folks at the veterans home to make sure that we’re keeping an eye out for any symptoms that may happen,” says Kerri Schuette, a spokesperson for Shasta County Health and Human Services.
Since mid-March, 15 cases of coronavirus have appeared in residents at another veterans home in Lebanon, Oregon. Two of those residents have since died from the disease.
Like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, CalVet recently instituted restrictions on who can visit residents of veterans homes and is increasing safety protocols because of the heightened risk of spreading COVID-19 to the elderly.
