SHALLOTTE — Brunswick County has identified three Covid-19 positive individuals at an assisted living facility in Shallotte.
Two employees and one resident of Autumn Care tested positive for the virus, with the employee being asymptomatic.
Related: New Hanover County IDs ‘outbreak,’ two Covid-positive employees at Murrayville nursing center [Free]
All residents of the facility are being tested for the virus. Autumn Care is the first congregate living setting in Brunswick County to have been identified as having an outbreak of Covid-19, defined as two or more positive cases. Last week, New Hanover County identified its first congregate outbreak at Northchase Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Murrayville.
According to Brunswick County, the facility has put in place strong measures to prevent the spread of the virus in accordance with state and local standards. All staff are required to wear masks and residents are required to wear masks when leaving their rooms. Group activities and group meals are not permitted.
“We have had a team in place since March to communicate weekly with all our residential living facilities about their concerns, to address any gaps they might have in their service delivery and to get them the personal protective equipment they need,” Health and Human Services Director David Stanley said in a county press release. “We are in frequent communication with Autumn Care at this time to see how we can assist them in this situation with any resources they might need to support their residents and employees.”
Nationwide, fatalities in nursing homes make up one-third of all Covid-19 deaths. In North Carolina, deaths in nursing homes make up more than half of all fatalities, which total 960 as of June 4.
