Nearly 90 Percent of Centre Crest Residents Test Positive for COVID-19

A Bellefonte senior-assisted living facility has confirmed that 145 of its residents have been identified as having active and confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 46 members of the facility’s staff have also tested positive for having active cases of the virus.

Centre Crest’s administrator, Andrew Naugle, reported the numbers Nov. 30 in an official statement and also posted the figures on the facility’s website.

The confirmed 145 cases come from a total of 164 residents at the nursing home, according to WPSU, meaning there is an 88-percent infection rate among residents.

Naugle said at this time, the facility’s 145 active cases among residents bring the cumulative total of cases to 193 among residents since the pandemic began.

He said Centre Crest had no residents with new onset respiratory symptoms within a 72-hour period as of Nov. 30.

Naugle said they also had no staff with new onset of respiratory symptoms within the 72-hour period.

“As our nation, commonwealth and local community continue to weather the [coronavirus] pandemic, we believe it is extremely important that accurate communication occur,’ Naugle said. ‘We are doing what we can to limit the spread of COVID-19 within the facility. We are taking steps based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the local Health Department and Emergency Management Agencies to reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19.”

He said Centre Crest is employing the following methods to keep its residents and staff safe: enhanced infection control precautions, screening residents, staff, and essential visitors for expanded list of symptoms, using personal protective equipment, restricting visitation and entry of people to the building, testing staff and residents for COVID-19 based on current protocols and availability of tests, and postponing communal activities.

There have not been in-person visitations at the facility since September.

As of Thursday, the Department of Health has reported a total of 493 cases of COVID-19 of residents in 16 nursing homes and personal care homes in Centre County, and 83 cases among employees of those facilities.

There have been 39 deaths reported from long-term facilities.