NEWTON, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) — The number of COVID-19 cases at a Netwon, Illinois nursing home continues to rise.
Tuesday, Newton Care Center issued a letter to families acknowledging 26 residents and 10 staff members have tested positive for the virus so far.
“Despite our aggressive efforts, our first case occurred as a result of a contact between a resident and an asymptomatic person, outside of our facility, in March,” the letter said. “We screened the resident, who showed no symptoms for several days, and we followed all then-existing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local and state departments of health.”
Due to the number of cases at Newton Care Center, the facility will operate as a COVID-19 positive facility and will no longer have a separate COVID unit.
Every resident will be on contact droplet precautions regardless of their virus status, which means all staff members caring for residents will be in full protective gear including masks, eye protection, gloves and gowns.
The nursing home also announced it is under an admission freeze and will not accept new residents at this time.
Nursing homes continue to be hot zones for the coronavirus in Illinois and across the nation. The state recently released a breakdown of virus cases.
