(statement for Clinton County Emergency Management Agency, Clinton County Public Health & Clinton County) – (followed by a statement from the Alverno via their Facebeook page) both issued Monday afternoon
The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Clinton County Public Health have identified three cases of COVID-19 at The Alverno, a long-term care facility in Clinton County. According to IDPH, an outbreak occurs when three or more cases of COVID-19 are identified among residents of a facility.
The facility has notified residents and their families. The affected residents are in isolation in accordance to IDPH guidelines. The Alverno staff is working closely with IDPH and Clinton County Public Health to protect the health of all residents and staff with additional testing of residents and staff as directed by IDPH.
“Protecting the health and wellbeing of the residents and staff is of the highest priority,” said Clinton County Public Health Director Michele Cullen. “We know our older population is at the highest risk for serious COVID-19 illness, so we are monitoring the situation carefully and taking the highest precautions to prevent virus spread.”
As of today, June 1, 2020, there are 64 total cases of COVID-19 in Clinton County. Fifty-nine of those 64 have recovered from the virus. The Clinton County Health Department continues to work closely with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), and other state and local partners to respond to this ongoing pandemic.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19, including an interactive map with county, regional and long-term care outbreak information, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus.
For additional resources and up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit https://coronavirus.iowa.gov. For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit https://coronavirus.iowa.gov and follow the Iowa Department of Public Health on Facebook at @IowaDepartmentOfPublicHealth and on Twitter at @IAPublicHealth. In addition, a public hotline is available 24/7 by calling 2-1-1 or 1-800-244-7431.
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From the Alverno Facebook page
The Alverno recently participated in voluntary COVID-19 testing of staff and residents. While 3 positive cases were initially reported to the Clinton County Emergency Management and the Iowa Department of Public Health, effective today at 5:30 pm, the facility received 2 negative test results on each individual who previously tested positive. No signs or symptoms have been identified, and the individuals are now considered negative for COVID-19. The facility remains COVID free at this time.
The facility continues to follow all precautions to prevent COVID 19, such as visitor restrictions, the cancellation of group activities and communal dining, and infection control measures such as proper PPE usage (Personal Protective Equipment) and proper hand washing and hygiene.
While we know it is difficult for our families and residents to be apart, we have implemented numerous methods for them to communicate, such as virtual visits, window visits, phone calls, cheer cards and email/Facebook messages.
We thank the community, our staff, residents and families for their support during this challenging time.
