A second long-term care facility in Linn County has recovered from its outbreak of COVID-19, Linn County Public Health announced on Monday. Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids has had no new cases confirmed in the last 28 days, or two consecutive incubation periods.
The facility’s nursing center had its first confirmed cases of the virus in April. A total of six residents tested positive for the virus. Four recovered, but two died.
“We are pleased to announce that Cottage Grove Place is COVID free and greatly appreciate all the hard work our staff has done to make the residents and staff safe,” Cottage Grove Executive Director Mark Bailey said in a statement.
After the cases were confirmed in April, Bailey told Little Village that residents at the nursing center are checked on three times a day and employees are screened prior to their shift. An isolation area was also created for residents with the virus and designated staff members cared for those residents.
Cottage Grove Place was one of five long-term care outbreaks in Linn County. LCPH announced in late May that Heritage Specialty Care in Cedar Rapids has recovered from its outbreak.
This leaves three current COVID-19 outbreaks in Linn County’s long-term care facilities. On Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting the following case numbers:
• ManorCare Health Services in Cedar Rapids: 50 confirmed cases among residents/staff, 35 have recovered
• Living Center West in Cedar Rapids: 82 confirmed cases among residents/staff, 64 have recovered
• Linn Manor Care Center in Marion: 39 confirmed cases among residents/staff, 33 have recovered
There are 39 total ongoing outbreaks in the state, according to IDPH. No long-term care facilities in Johnson County are experiencing an outbreak, according to the department.
Over the weekend the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Linn County surpassed 1,000. As of Tuesday at 10 a.m. there are 1,020 confirmed cases of the virus. A total of 892 people have recovered and 80 have died.
The number of reported cases per week has been slowing down but officials are preparing for a possible second wave as the state reopens.
“We don’t know what the situation is going to be like here in our community, in Linn County,” LCPH Director Pramod Dwivedi said last week during a Board of Supervisors meeting when asked about a possible surge in cases. “This is a very common thing. The community spread is there. The virus is there. If we are not utilizing the precautions, we are going to expose ourselves, and that’s why it’s very important to use all those precautions: face mask, social distancing, washing hands [is] really critical.”
LCPH is recommending a phased reopening approach consisting of three phases. The county is currently in phase one. As of June 9, the county is 93.6 percent of the way ready to move to phase two. (Last Thursday, the county was 76 percent ready.)
LCPH’s guidance is determined by 10 disease and resource metrics, which are categorized under epidemiology, health care and public health. All metrics must be met before moving to the next phase of the reopening process. The metrics and whether or not they have been met can be found online.
