All of the residents and nine staff members of Sundale Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care facility in Morgantown who tested positive more than two weeks ago for COVID-19 remain positive following a second-round of screenings.
Three Sundale employees, who initially tested positive for the novel coronavirus, came back negative, Carl Shrader, Sundale medical director and a WVU Medicine physician, said Tuesday.
“The three who cleared were 57, 60 and 37,” said Shrader, adding one of the cleared employees has lung disease. The remaining nine employees who tested positive are self-quarantined at home.
“There is no consistency in ages,” Shrader said of the virus-free workers.
Both employees and residents were screened Monday morning at Sundale and the results were processed by WVU Medicine. Shrader said he received the test results Monday evening.
Nineteen of the positive residents remain in isolation at Sundale. Shrader said a resident who refused to be tested initially and had been placed with the other COVID-positive residents was tested Monday. Her result was negative.
“I can’t explain it,” Shrader said.
The facility’s first COVID-19 death was Friday, and the resident had underlying health issues.
Shrader said the residents — whose average age is 85 — will be retested in one week.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, there were 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Monongalia County and six in Preston County as of Tuesday afternoon. Marion County had 25 confirmed cases.
Four COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the state, including the most recent in Harrison County. Overall, there are 412 confirmed cases of the virus in the state and 12,059 people have been tested.
Kanawha County has the most confirmed cases COVID-19 with 61, the state said Tuesday.
The main symptoms of the virus are fever, coughing, tiredness and difficulty breathing. Some people, however, may show little to no symptoms.
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