Testing and helping those with COVID

By: 
Patrick Fisher, The New Prague Times

Testing for COVID-19 has continued with the public health departments in Scott, Le Sueur and Rice counties helping where they can. Reports from the counties and Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center and Assisted Living are as follows.

Chief Operating Officer Marc Halpert of Monarch Healthcare Management, which operates Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center and Assisted Living said they retested 114 people for the coronavirus, from residents in the nursing home and the assisted living facility to staff, and only came up with two positive cases. Those cases were residents. When asked about the recent deaths at Mala Strana, he replied they had three people who had died and had been in hospice. Two of those deaths were related to COVID-19.

“Everything has been going well,” said Halpert. “Our staff is working hard to keep our residents safe. We’re making sure precautions are taken to keep our residents and staff away from COVID.”

Scott County Scott County Public Health Director Lisa Brodsky said there have been 1,483 cases in the county and 18 deaths. Of those 18 deaths all but three have been at long term care facilities, with most being residents who have had underlying health conditions. She said the youngest person to die was age 55 and the oldest was age 93, the average age has been 82. She added that 12 of the 18 who died were male.

Brodsky said when they are notified that someone has COVID-19 they do a case investigation, including contact tracing. They have a questionnaire to find out when a person was first symptomatic, when did they begin isolation, plus when and where they possibly came in contact with other people.

Cases have been...

To see more on this story pick up the August 13, 2020 print edition of The New Prague Times and the Montgomery Messenger.

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