A second resident at The Kensington senior living facility in the City of Falls Church has tested positive for COVID-19, the News-Press has confirmed. This is also the second report of a positive test in the City.
The Fairfax County Health Department notified F.C. officials of the positive test on Sunday.
The first report of a resident’s positive COVID-19 test at the Falls Church assisted living center came on Thursday, which was also the first such case in the City of Falls Church. According to a statement from The Kensington, the male resident who first tested positive has been in isolation since last Saturday, March 14.
There are currently 108 residents and 181 staff members at The Kensington Falls Church, according to the facility’s media representative.
In its Thursday statement, The Kensington said two staff members with fevers had been tested but, as of Sunday afternoon, there have been no updates on the status of the results.
A statement from The Kensington, issued after the second positive test Sunday, says the facility has been providing written updates at least once a day to the families of residents, along with phone calls, photos and Facetime. “Our regular communications give them the latest information we have and provide news of our ongoing protective measures,” the statement read.
The coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is especially dangerous to the elderly. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data shows a fatality rate of 3 – 11 percent for ages 65-84 and between 10 – 27 percent for patients aged 85 and up who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States.
As of Friday evening, The Washington Post reports at least 55 coronavirus deaths have occurred among people living in elder care centers in the U.S. In one Washington state nursing home, 35 people died after the coronavirus ran rampant through the facility.
According to a Post review, at least 73 facilities in 22 states have reported infections.
As per guidance from the CDC for health care communities, The Kensington had already been limiting visitors and canceled all events and outings prior to the positive results.
Fairfax Health District reported its first death from the coronavirus on Saturday night when a man in his 60s, who contracted the virus through a previously-reported case, died due to respiratory failure as a result of COVD-19. It was the third reported death in the Commonwealth.
In a Sunday morning press conference by Governor Ralph Northam, Virginia Health Department officials reported a current total of 219 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state, up 67 from Saturday. Officials cite the increase in private testing to the sudden rise in totals.
Sunday afternoon, NBC4 Washington reported that a staff member of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board in Merrifield tested posted for the novel coronavirus. According to letter it acquired from Fairfax County Director of Health Gloria Addo-Ayensu and CSB Executive Director Daryl Washington, the employee lived outside of the county and had limited contact with others. Nine other CSB employees have been asked to self-quarantine until April 2.
In the Fairfax Health District, which includes the City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, Fairfax County and its towns, there have been a total of 31 positive cases reported.
