23 COVID-19 cases linked to residents & staff at Cherry Springs Village in Hendersonville
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Henderson County Department of Public Health (HCDPH) confirmed there have been 23 positive cases of COVID-19 linked to residents and staff at Cherry Springs Village, an assisted living community in Hendersonville.
This brings the county's total up to 50 on Sunday.
In a press release, HCDPH said the testing that led to these numbers was part of an investigation based on a single confirmed case identified on April 1.
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“I want to acknowledge the obvious concerns this will create for residents and their families," stated Henderson County Health Director Steve Smith in Sunday's press release. "It is a very difficult situation for all involved."
News 13 spoke with Laura Moore on Sunday, the sister of one of the residents who tested positive.
"She is a younger patient or resident there," Moore said. "So far she has just had a fever and it’s been low grade for about, actually a week today is when her fever started."
Moore said her sister, Alicia Rogers, is 50 years old.
She said this is all happening after three weeks of strict protocol by the facility.
"It’s been three weeks no one is allowed to go in we can take things to our loved ones to the door," said Moore.
She said she is concerned because of how much unknown surrounds the illness.
"When you realize that 23 people in a facility of 60 have this illness that’s a big thing," said Moore.
Since confirming the additional cases, the staff and leadership of the facility and all public health partners including Pardee Hospital, AdventHealth and Henderson County Emergency Services have been in communication.
HCDPH says all residents and their families have been notified along with staff.
Cherry Springs Village released the following media statement on the matter:
A number of residents and staff members at Cherry Springs Village in Hendersonville have tested positive for COVID-19. Those individuals are being treated in isolation by health professionals and the community is under quarantine until further notice. Since early February, Cherry Springs Village has adhered to aggressive infection-control policies, in compliance with guidelines set by the CDC and the NC State Health Department. We will continue to work with the local health department in maintaining the health of our community. We appreciate the support of our families and the public at this time.
For more information, you can visit www.hendersoncountync.gov/health, call the North Carolina Coronavirus Hotline at 1-866-462-3821 (staffed by nurses and pharmacists 24/7), or visit the Center for Disease Control’s website for information and frequent updates at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.
According the the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) website, as of Sunday, there have been COVID-19 outbreaks in eight nursing homes across the state.
Click here for more information from the state health department's website.