COVID-19 has now spread to every nursing home in Jay County.

The latest report from Indiana State Department of Health confirms at least two dozen new cases of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities in Portland and Dunkirk. The increase in coronavirus cases is correlated with the increase of cases in the community, said Jay County Health Department’s Heath Butz.

The ISDH reports five residents and 12 staff members at Dunkirk’s Miller’s Merry Manor have tested positive for COVID-19 along with seven additional staff members testing positive at Persimmon Ridge Rehabilitation Centre in Portland.

Representatives of Miller's Merry Manor did not immediately respond to inquiries as to how many of their residents have tested positive for COVID-19 or if any more residents have died from coronavirus, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 5,500 Hoosiers.

There have been no additional ISDH confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in Jay County long-term care facilities after the virus killed three Persimmon Ridge residents in October. Twenty-six residents and 21 staff members of the Portland facility have tested positive for COVID-19, according to ISDH reports and Persimmon Ridge administrator Melinda Hodgson.

Residents of Jay County Retirement Center and CrownPointe of Portland have also tested positive for COVID-19, according to corresponding facility administrators.

Two out of CrownPointe’s 27 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, administrator Amanda Hirschy said. One has recovered from the virus while another was transferred to a nursing home, she said.

The state department of health reports at least one CrownPointe staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 but that was a therapist who visited the facility and didn’t permanently work there, Hirschy said.

“We’re not allowing visitation to our facility … due to the county’s positivity rate being so high,” Hirschy said. Jay County has a seven-day positive rate of 15.4%, according to Tuesday’s ISDH report.

Jay County Retirement Center has had one resident and two staff members test positive for COVID-19, according to director Hope Confer.

“We’re just trying to take it day by day and keep everybody safe,” said Confer, who was one of the staff members to test positive for the virus.

She said the infection originated from a resident attending a wedding in October. They ended up contracting the virus there and coming back and infecting two staff members, she said. Everyone has since recovered from the virus, Confer said.

Butz reiterated that, since Jay County is still at a severe risk for COVID-19 (red on the color-coded map), events are limited to 25 by the state. He added that events of any kind should be canceled if possible. (The county is expected to remain red when ratings are updated today.)

“Right now, those gatherings can lead to a lot of community spread,” Butz said.

He added that as long as Jay County has a high positivity rate for COVID-19, it will assuredly spread to long-term care facilities, which are responsible for around 50% of all COVID-19 deaths in America.

Indiana National Guard soldiers were deployed to Persimmon Ridge and Dunkirk’s Miller’s Merry Manor on Nov. 2 and Nov. 16, respectively, according to the Indiana Health Care Association. It is unclear if the new cases were reported before or after soldiers arrived to these facilities.

Jay County had 40 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tuesday’s state report, increasing its cumulative total to 1,104 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 684 occurred in November. There was also a new death reported, bringing Jay County’s total to 15.

Coronavirus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets or small particles from an infected person coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that it may be possible those particles and droplets remain suspended in the air for an unknown period of time and travel beyond 6 feet, especially indoors.

CDC guidelines encourage wearing a mask and avoiding close contact when around others and frequent hand washing and surface cleaning as ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The virus causes a range of symptoms, which can appear two to 14 days after exposure. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.
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