An official from Sundale Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care facility in Morgantown said one of its male residents who tested positive for the novel coronavirus has recovered and is back in the facility
Sixteen residents, however, remain positive for the virus and are in isolation at Sundale, while one is hospitalized at Mon Health Medical Center and three remain at J.W. Ruby Memorial. Eight Sundale employees who have tested positive for the virus remain quarantined at home.
There have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases at Sundale since Thursday. Sundale has 98 residents and 150 employees, many of whom live outside the Morgantown area.
“Things are moving in the right direction,” said Michael Hicks, president of Suncrest Medical, the parent of Sundale. He said the virus that had infected the resident had run its course.
Sundale’s announcement Friday follows an earlier erroneous report that a hospitalized coronavirus-positive patient had died.
A Sundale social media post said Friday afternoon it had inaccurately reported to the state that a person had died.
“The individual has COVID-19 and is currently hospitalized in critical condition at a local hospital,” the post said. “We sincerely apologize for the confusion and erroneous reporting that was relayed to the local health department, Monongalia County Health Department and ultimately to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, which reported the death in an official capacity.”
The state’s first confirmed case of the virus was March 17. As of Friday afternoon, there are 76 COVID-19 cases in West Virginia, 24 of which are in Monongalia County, according to the state. There are 1,779 negative cases and results from 43 tests are pending.
Since that time, Sundale has sanitized its facility, switched to disposable dinnerware, restricted visitation, required staff wear masks, and held frequent briefings with local media to keep everyone updated on the outbreak.
Hicks said a local hotel is now offering rooms for Sundale employees to go and rest between shifts. He declined to identify the hotel. Also, the community continues to be generous with donations of food and supplies, he said.
Health officials are asking people continue to practice social distancing by keeping six feet apart from other individuals and to remain at home to lessen demand on health care professionals.
Symptoms of coronavirus vary from person to person, but the most common ailments includes a temperature, a cough and trouble breathing.
The state’s county-by-county numbers do not appear to match the number of cases at Sundale because some nursing home workers live in other counties. They are counted in their home counties and not Mon.
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