ROANOKE, Va. – There are 14 active cases of COVID-19 at the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke, but the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) said all 14 people are symptom-free.
VDVS said they detected the first positive COVID-19 case in a staff member on June 4. Since then, that staff member was placed on self-quarantine, recovered and was retested with a negative result. They were cleared to start working again on June 26, according to VDVS.
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In total, eight residents and seven staff members have now tested positive for COVID-19. As of Monday, there were still 14 active cases in the facility, though VDVS said all were symptom-free.
Health department officials have conducted testing in the whole building, according to VDVS.
The eight residents who tested positive were moved to a COVID-19 isolation area within the facility, while the six staff members are home in self-isolation.
The center has put several measures in place to keep residents and staff safe and to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Staff are wearing masks and PPE, and following CDC guidelines for handwashing.
The facility is closed to all visitors, with the exception of family members visiting a resident in an end-of-life stage.
Anyone coming into the building is screened with a temperature check and questions about exposure to COVID-19.
Residents are screened three times a day through temperature and vitals, according to VDVS. Any resident with a temperature above 100.4 or showing other potential signs of COVID-19 exposure is immediately isolated and tested.
Residents are only allowed to leave the facility for necessary medical appointments and ER visits. Any resident who is admitted to a hospital must have a negative COVID-19 result that is less than 24 hours old, and must not have been tested or treated on any dedicated COVID-19 wing or isolation unit of the hospital prior to readmission to the center, according to VDVS.