Leflore County no longer has an active outbreak of COVID-19 at a nursing home.
Golden Age came off the list Monday, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Nay Reed, the nursing home’s administrator, reported that as of Sunday, there have been no new positive tests for COVID-19 at the facility among residents or staff in more than two weeks.
“We continue to monitor residents twice a day for symptoms, and employees continue to be screened daily for symptoms when they report to work,” Reed said in a prepared statement. “We are practicing social distancing in the facility, as small groups are able to gather in open areas and residents are asked to wear a face mask when they leave their room.”
During the course of the seven-week outbreak, Golden Age experienced 17 deaths of its residents, Reed said. Seventy-two other residents as well as 37 employees tested positive for the disease at some point but later recovered.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are particularly susceptible to bad outcomes from the virus.
They account for at least 36, or 70%, of Leflore County’s 51 deaths from COVID-19.
Two deaths, presumably of Golden Age residents, were added to the total on Saturday.
Reed said that Golden Age is keeping families informed should there be any new positive cases. In addition, families of residents are made aware of any changes in their condition.
Reed also noted that Department of Health reporting requirements list a resident death as related to COVID-19 even if the patient is weeks beyond the required quarantine period after testing positive for the virus.
There were 357 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths added to Mississippi’s totals Monday.
The state has now recorded 31,257 cases and 1,114 deaths since the outbreak began in March.
Presently, Blacks account for 80% of the deaths in Leflore County, whites for 18% and one victim is listed as “other.” Leflore County has a Black population of 75%.
As of Monday morning, Greenwood Leflore Hospital was treating nine patients in its COVID-19 unit, according to Christine Hemphill, a hospital spokeswoman. Three were on ventilators to help them breathe.
Leflore County has the third-most deaths of the state’s 82 counties. Lauderdale County leads with 79, followed by Neshoba County with 71.
•Contact Tim Kalich at 581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
