| Thereâs no indication that COVID-19 outbreaks at two nursing homes in West Virginia are under control.
The Princeton Health Care Center in Mercer County and the Grant County Rehabilitation and Care Center in Petersburg added confirmed cases Wednesday.
Mercer County Health Officer Dr. Kathleen Wides said 12 patients and 19 staff members have so far contracted the virus with test results pending and another round of testing set to begin.
The state reported the COVID-19 death of a 74-year-old woman from Mercer County Wednesday evening. The third death in the county in the last two days. Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday the deaths were associated with the nursing home. He said the virus got into the home in connection with travel to Myrtle Beach.
Wides said this is another example of how difficult it is to stop COVID-19.
âPrinceton Health Care did everything right. They had strict protocols and they know what theyâre doing. They enforce their protocols and it still it snuck in.â
Testing will continue. The state requires testing every seven days until there are 14 days of no positives when thereâs a nursing home outbreak.
Two outbreaks in Grant County
In Grant County, there are currently 19 patients and eight staff members who have tested positive at the Grant County Rehabilitation and Care Center. Grant County Health Department Administrator Sandy Glasscock said sheâs concerned about community spread because itâs taken tests several days to be processed.
âThis could cause community outbreak because the staff goes home in the evening and they werenât quarantining until they tested positive,â she said.
Two nursing home residents were initially hospitalized. Glasscock said two staff members reported having minor symptoms of the virus Wednesday, others are asymptomatic.
Glasscock who also works as Grant Countyâs contact tracer is wrapping up a outbreak at a church near Petersburg that had 28 positive COVID-19 cases following a youth retreat and evening services. She said only two of the 28 cases were asymptomatic.>P>
The growth of cases has been significant in Grant County since the middle of the month. Glasscock said the entire county had 15 positive cases on July 15, it now has 77.
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