WBRZ Abc 2 March 260 2020
BATON ROUGE – The state has identified what it believes are six clusters of coronavirus within nursing homes in Louisiana.
On Thursday, an email sent out to residents at St. James Place in Baton Rouge said two additional employees at the nursing home had tested positive for the virus. The facility has a total of four cases reported involving residents and staff as of Thursday.
Ollie Steele Burden Manor has also confirmed on Thursday that one employee has tested positive for COVID-19. The team member did not work in direct resident care.
The state said earlier in the week it was investigating a possible cluster of cases at St. James Place. The facility was placed on lockdown earlier this month, stopping residents from leaving or receiving visitors.
There was a cluster at Chateau D’Ville in Donaldsonville, too. Where as many as five people were said to have the virus.
On Wednesday, a letter sent out by staff at Landmark of Baton Rouge said one of its residents also tested positive for the virus as well. The letter says the no one else at the facility has been diagnosed with the virus at this time, and the infected person is in stable condition.
Other facilities being investigated for “clusters” include a deadly outbreak at Lambeth House, Vista Shores and Chateau De Notre Dame. All three facilities are in New Orleans.
Wednesday, the state said it was monitoring possible clusters at six nursing homes.
A cluster is identified as two or more cases that appear to be connected.
But, the state said, it will no longer identify the facilities: “With the involvement of hospitals and multiple providers and the growth in cases of nursing home residents, the Department of Health will no longer be reporting where positive cases have been identified,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
It said the department continues to work with nursing homes to minimize the spread of the illness and protect residents and staff.