A coronavirus outbreak at the Rutland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center has risen to 17 positive tests, although the state warns that half the number are rapid antigen results still awaiting official confirmation.
Fourteen residents and three employees had received some form of positive Covid-19 result as of Thursday, up from an initial report of eight residents and one employee on Tuesday and, in a follow-up, nine residents and three employees on Wednesday.
Complicating those figures is the fact the state has confirmed only eight of the 17 positive results with official PCR tests, rather than in-house antigen exams that made national headlines this summer for nearly 50 false reports in Manchester.
The 123-bed Rutland facility is owned by Genesis HealthCare, which operates nearly 400 similar buildings in 26 states. A second local Genesis property, the nearby Mountain View Center, reported a false positive patient test in June and two positive employee results in September.
“Rutland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center has a pretty rigorous setup and it was through their own testing that they identified the first positive case,” said Conor Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Human Services.
The state Department of Health administered PCR tests to all of the nursing home’s residents and employees on Wednesday and expects to report the results at Gov. Phil Scott’s press conference on Friday.
“We’ll have more clarity when those come in,” Kennedy said.
In addition, the state has scheduled another round of official testing for Friday and will repeat the process next week on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
The nursing home first reached out to local and state leaders over the weekend upon registering its first positive antigen test.
“They wanted to make sure we were getting the information about what the situation was and everything that has been put into place to address it,” Rutland City Mayor David Allaire said.
Local and state leaders have been told the outbreak was believed to be confined to one floor of the facility, which was screening people as much as three times a day before the current problem.
The latest numbers come as Vermont shattered its previous daily record of 72 cases set on Wednesday with 109 new reports on Thursday.
Officials are particularly concerned about an outbreak at a nursing home, as one at Burlington’s Birchwood Terrace Rehabilitation and Healthcare this spring led to 21 of Vermont’s confirmed 59 coronavirus deaths.
