Fayette County Public Health (FCPH) reported a fourth COVID-19 related death in the county Thursday — a male in his 80s.
“We ask that you please respect this family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of a loved one,” reads the FCPH statement. “No additional information about this patient will be made available.”
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported Thursday, and five individuals have recovered and been released from monitoring, according to FCPH. As of Thursday afternoon, there were 32 active cases and two people were hospitalized.
Four deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported in Fayette County since Friday, Aug. 21. The three individuals who were first announced by FCPH were residents at St Catherine’s Manor of Washington C.H. They were in their 70s — two females and one male.
As previously reported, as of Tuesday, 11 St. Catherine’s residents and three employees had tested positive for COVID-19. All are laboratory-confirmed cases.
St. Catherine’s continues to screen staff and residents for COVID-19 signs and symptoms, including temperature checks during employee shifts, according to St. Catherine’s officials.
“Our care community continues to follow CDC guidelines on the proper use of personal protective equipment, and monitor any new recommendations the Center of Disease Control, Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, and state and local health departments. In addition, we have four different zones established throughout the facility; green, yellow, orange, and red. Each zone color represents a different level of risk of exposure to COVID-19, green being the least at risk, red being a full isolation COVID-19 unit. Each zone was created to increase safety of all residents and reduce risk of possible exposure and/or spread,” according to a statement.
All St. Catherine’s residents have been isolated to their halls since the beginning of the pandemic with no communal dining or activities. When a resident tests positive for COVID-19 within the care community, the resident is put into further isolation, which includes full PPE isolation protocols.
If there are several positive cases, an isolated COVID-19 unit is created, according to St. Catherine’s. This becomes a “red zone area,” which includes staff who are designated to this unit and only work in this area of the facility, and explicit PPE guidelines and usage procedures.
The St. Catherine’s employees who tested positive are off work and will continue to be off work until they are cleared by the facility and their treating medical professionals to resume their duties.
“We have educated staff to remain home if they are experiencing any type of symptoms,” according to St. Catherine’s.
As of Monday, Aug. 17, the outdoor scheduled visits at St. Catherine’s have been halted until further notice. Alternatives to outdoor visitations are offered, including Facetime calls, window visits, phone calls and smile mail.
