****UPDATE:****

Orange County Health Department shared a release Saturday afternoon saying another county resident at PruittHealth – Carolina Point has died from COVID-19.

According to the release, the resident was in their 60s. The department will not be releasing further information in order to protect the patient’s privacy.

Orange County Health Department revealed on Friday a third death has come from the PruittHealth – Carolina Point long-term care facility and more than 30 positive cases have been reported from Signature HealthCARE.

A release from the department shared the county’s first death, which was reported by the state Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday, came from a resident of Carolina Point in their 70s. The department said the resident was in Hospice Care and no further information would be shared.

The release also said Carolina Point, which is located on the Durham-Orange county line on Mt. Sinai Road, has at least 86 positive COVID-19 cases, with the total including residents and staff. Nine residents are being treated at Duke University Hospital. The amount is an update from the amount given on Wednesday, when Governor Roy Cooper said at least 60 positive cases have been reported.

Orange County Health Department also gave updates on case numbers at the Signature HealthCARE location on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, which had previously been listed as having three cases. In Friday’s release, the number of positive cases has risen to 31 following further testing. More results are pending, according to the health department. Some of the positive cases are being treated at UNC Hospitals.

Governor Roy Cooper and officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services held a press conference on Wednesday to say a long-term care facility in Orange County had at least 60 positive cases with two people having died. State Senator Valarie Foushee, State Rep. Graig Meyer and State Rep. Verla Insko, who all represent Orange County, later shared a release saying the facility was PruittHealth – Carolina Point.

The Orange County representatives extended sympathy to families of those at PruittHealth – Carolina Point in their press release, as well as expressing their appreciation for health care professionals.

“As we work together to address this, we have full faith and trust in the ability of Orange County Health Department, UNC Health, and Duke Health to respond to the needs of the people at Pruitt and their families,” the release said. “We want to express our deep appreciation for all of the health care professionals that are working tirelessly to provide quality care to our community. We also want to thank Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen for their leadership during this time.

“It is incumbent on everyone in Orange County and across North Carolina to be diligent in following Governor Cooper and Secretary [Dr. Mandy] Cohen’s guidelines of staying at home, social distancing, and proper hygiene practices. We all play a vital role in slowing the spread of this disease.”

In his Wednesday press conference, Cooper said health officials have now accumulated enough testing supplies to  aggressively test and assess patients and staff in outbreak areas like PruittHealth – Carolina Point.

Secretary of NCDHHS, Dr. Mandy Cohen, said skilled nursing and long-term care facilities are very common places for coronavirus cases in the state. She said of the 21 outbreaks reported in the state, 18 are from such facilities. An outbreak is defined as having two or more cases in one area.

Along with the announcement, the governor and health officials said the state will be enacting a variety of new requirements for long-term care facilities. All nursing home staff will be required to wear masks when interacting with patients, as well as being screened daily. Mutual areas in such facilities will be required to close and facilities will be required to notify health departments of new or suspected cases of COVID-19.

If a facility experiences positive cases, state officials said residents must be quickly tested and those positive should be grouped into a separate area and cared for by a separate group of staff.

On April 2, the Orange County government shared a release about two positive cases at PruittHealth – Carolina Point. The two cases involved a health care worker who was currently isolated at home and a resident who was hospitalized at Duke Hospital.

To read the full release from Senator Foushee, Rep. Meyer and Rep. Insko, click here.

 

Note: 97.9 The Hill has been Chapel Hill and Orange County’s daily source for free local news since 1953. Please consider making a donation to continue supporting important local journalism like this.

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