Nearly two-thirds of the residents at a Craftsbury senior living center had tested positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, part of an outbreak state officials are monitoring and hopeful about.
Fifteen residents and 13 staff members at Craftsbury Community Care Center have been infected with the coronavirus over the past few weeks.
But state data workers have found no indication that the cases have caused any increase in community spread in the area, Department of Health spokesperson Ben Truman said Tuesday.
“The cases and data, as well as outreach and contact tracing efforts, indicate this outbreak is well contained,” Truman said.
There have been no deaths associated with the outbreak.
Between Dec. 10 and Dec. 23, the case rate in Craftsbury exceeded 80 per 10,000 people — one of the top four rates in the state over that time.
The nonprofit Orleans County facility, which has 24 beds, saw its first positive tests results Dec. 11. Officials have been overseeing tests of residents and staff twice a week, with slow increases in positive case counts.
“Overall, I think most folks are doing well,” said Kayla Donahue, a leader of the health department team addressing outbreaks at elder-care facilities. “We haven’t heard about any residents that they are overly concerned about or any sort of major challenge.”
Climbing case numbers at the Craftsbury center haven’t necessarily been unexpected. Donahue said the state’s aggressive approach to testing at long-term care facilities can yield more cases, which officials see “as a great thing, in a way, because we’re able to identify cases early.”
Penelope Doherty, a member of the center’s board of directors, said action has been swift since the first round of testing showed positive results from two staff members and one resident.
Her mother has been at the center since 2018 and was one of the residents who tested positive for the virus. She said her mother was able to receive treatment within four days of her Dec. 15 test.
The center shut down its kitchen in response to the outbreak, Doherty said, and a small team of runners has been picking up meals for residents from local caterers.
Still, the outbreak has strained resources at the small center.
“The challenge is, we are 13 staff down,” Doherty said. “So clearly there’s a lot of juggling, stretching, filling in.”
She said the state has helped find qualified people to come aboard while staff are out.
“People are stepping up,” she said.
