Olive Branch senior living aide tests positive, release says
An employee at an Americare Senior Living facility in Olive Branch, Miss., near the Tennessee border, tested positive for COVID-19 Monday, according to a news release sent by the company.
Americare operates three other senior living facilities in the region, in Memphis, Collierville and Covington.
As of wellness checks conducted Tuesday, Americare said all residents and other employees were without coronavirus symptoms.
By May 15, all residents and employees of the Olive Branch site will be tested, the company said in a written statement.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility,” Senior Vice-president Patricia Cokingtin said. Americare's announcement comes hours after Shelby County Health Department Director Alicia Haushalter expressed concern at the ongoing transmission of the coronavirus in neighboring Mississippi counties.
“The surrounding counties, as well as the state of Mississippi, have higher reproduction rates than we do, and that is concerning to us,” Haushalter said. “That means that there's active transmission within their communities.”
As of May 4, senior living facility residents represent one-third of COVID-19 fatalities in Shelby County, according to health department data.
The trend mirrors figures reported nationwide.
More than 16,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities across the country have died, representing roughly a quarter of the nation's overall deaths, USA Today reported May 1.
The Americare employee who tested positive last worked at the facility May 6, when they had no symptoms, according to Americare's statement.
The employee took a test two days later, after developing symptoms while off work, Americare said, adding that the company received notification of the positive result Tuesday.
All residents at the Olive Branch site have been placed in in-room quarantine and they receive wellness checks every four hours that they are awake, Americare said in the statement.
Recommended preventative actions are being followed, Cokingtin said, “including N95 masks while in the building and gloves when in resident rooms.” And visitors have not been allowed since March 13, when activities were also cancelled, Cokingtin said.
Micaela Watts and Katherine Burgess contributed to this report.
Sarah Macaraeg can be reached at sarah.macaraeg@commercialap peal.com, 901-529-2889 or on Twitter @seramak.