An employee at one of Mount Nittany Health’s outpatient practices has tested positive for COVID-19, the health care system said Friday.
Mount Nittany did not provide details about the case. But, it says since the symptoms were recognized, the employee has been at home. Mount Nittany says it has notified any coworkers who could have been exposed and they're being monitored.
"Mount Nittany Health has completed a detailed review to determine any potential patient exposure and has completed appropriate follow up as needed," the release says.
Mount Nittany Health System includes Mount Nittany Medical Center as well as providers and additional outpatient offices.
Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer of Mount Nittany Health, said in a news release that: “The health and safety of our community, patients and staff is our highest priority."
“We continue to follow guidelines from the (Centers for Disease Control) and (the Department of Health) to treat patients and prevent the transmission of infection within our facilities," he said.
As of Friday, there are 2,218 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania, a number that continues to go up steeply each day. There are 11 diagnosed cases in Centre County.
Secretary of Health Rachel Levine says the state is encouraging everyone to stay home as much as possible.
“The less you are out and about with other people, the less you are susceptible to getting COVID-19, and that protects yourself, your family and our communities.”
Another nine counties in Pennsylvania are now being added to Pennsylvania’s “stay-at-home” order. That brings the total to 19 counties.
Levine says it will take weeks to know how effective the stay-at-home orders are. She says they’ll look for a consistent leveling off and decrease in the number of new cases.
“As that plateaus and starts to go down in a consistent way, that will show us that we’re gaining a handle in terms of the spread of COVID-19.”
