Public Health nurse, Sara Schulte, has confirmed the first COVID-19 outbreak in a Carroll County nursing facility.
Schulte says there are currently a total of 12 employees and residents that have tested positive. Public Health is working with the facility in their efforts to stem the spread and care for their residents.
Schulte says the Thomas Rest Haven staff has been doing a great job of notifying family members of the situation and the current regulations in place. On-site visits are not possible now, contact with residents will need to be done by phone or digital means. She adds those who have a friend or loved one in a high risk category should be following the recommended guidelines closely.
Those who are at risk should still be limiting their outings to essential trips for groceries or medications and take all the recommended measures to protect themselves. As the positive numbers in Carroll County continue trending upward, Schulte says they are seeing cases that span a broader range of age categories.
She says they and the state medical authorities monitor the testing numbers and the associated graphs and are seeing a “large peak” here at this time. These numbers change rapidly, and Schulte says they can become obsolete shortly after Public Health issues a report. She strongly urges anyone who is wanting to dive deeper into the numbers to log on to coronavirus.iowa.gov as they are updating for Carroll County, the region and the state in real time. For testing, there are two options. The Test Iowa site is still operational at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll. Log on to www.testiowa.com and register and select St. Anthony Clinic as your test location. If you want to be tested by your provider, you must call ahead and make arrangements directly with them.
