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COVID-19 outbreaks reported in two Moses Lake nursing homes

by EMRY DINMAN
Staff Writer | July 29, 2020 1:15 AM

MOSES LAKE — Two nursing homes in Moses Lake are currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, Grant County Health District reported Tuesday.

Columbia Crest Center, which first reported an outbreak in early April, had 29 reported confirmed cases of the coronavirus: 10 staff members and 19 residents.

Lake Ridge Center has reported five cases: three staff members and two residents.

Residents at both facilities have been placed in isolation from other residents and staff members with the virus are isolated at home, according to the health district. As of Tuesday afternoon, none of those who had tested positive in the facilities had been hospitalized.

Both in Washington state and across the country, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for seniors have been hit hard by the pandemic, accounting for a high number of the deaths attributed to the virus. One Grant County resident, a Moses Lake man in his 90s, died last month while a resident of a different local long-term care facility.

Research has shown that nursing homes are often impacted when located in areas of general community spread, the health district said in a statement. Grant County has seen a surge in coronavirus cases in all areas in recent weeks, according to data from the health district.

State and county health officials have been conducting weekly tests of all residents and staff members at long-term care facilities since early June.