All but one county in Pennsylvania now has a “substantial” level of community spread of COVID-19, according to the state. As community transmission continues to grow, long term care facilities are seeing a surge of cases as well.
In a letter sent out Monday, Centre Crest, in Bellefonte, confirmed there are 145 residents with active positive cases for COVID-19. That’s out of a total of 164 residents at the nursing home, meaning an 88% infection rate among residents.
When asked about what’s the percentage of residents who show severe COVID-19 symptoms, an administrator declined to comment.
That’s the most cases the facility has seen since the pandemic began. Forty-six staff members also currently have the virus.
Centre Crest said it’s testing all residents once a week and that it has adequate testing resources and personal protective equipment. In-person visitations have been suspended since September.
There have been 472 known cases of COVID-19 among residents of nursing homes and personal care homes in Centre County, according to the Department of Health. Similar to the statewide trend, long term care facilities have reported more cases in the past two months than in the spring.
