LONGVIEW, Texas — Six cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday at a Longview senior nursing facility, according to Gregg County Health Administrator A.J. Harris, and the Longview News Journal.
This brings the total number of confirmed reported cases of COVID-19 to 87 with 44 patients reported to have recovered.
Longview Mayor Andy Mack addressed the added cases with the following statement sent to the Longview News-Journal.
"We are far from being through this. We all realize that with more testing will come more positives. And as more things open, we will have more positives."
Garrett Davis says he has been working at Highland Pines Nursing for a few months as a maintenance technician. He says once he heard news of the virus within the building, he became concerned for the health of his family.
"The fact that I have to do that [work] everyday stresses me out to the point where I don't want to go to work because I'm scared to go home and be around him," Davis said.
Garrett lives with his father who has been furloughed due to the virus.
He says the facility gave him an N95 mask to wear the day before he decided to take a 14-day quarantine leave from work.
"I touched things every day in that building that I know it could contain that disease, that it could be there, could be on," Davis said.
Highland Pines has addressed COVID-19 at the facility in a statement on its website:
In the weeks leading up to now we have taken every precaution, following every guideline provided by the CDC and CMS including restricting entry, monitoring aggressively our staff and residents for signs and symptoms, excessive training and retraining on staff proficiency for infection control, deep cleaning, social distancing, and many other proactive measures to ensure our residents and staff safety. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the novel virus and long incubation period during which most people are asymptomatic, we have identified at least one case in the facility who has tested positive for COVID-19. So what does that mean? Well, we have notified the appropriate authorities including the Department of Health, and Health and Human Services. They were very complimentary of our efforts thus far, and had no further recommendations to reduce the risk other than what we are already doing. We have isolated the risk, but we must be aggressive with our efforts. Therefore we are prophylactically isolating all residents in the area potentially affected. Rest assured we have plenty of support at all levels, and despite the PPE shortage around the country we are not without the needed supplies. We remain in daily communication with the appropriate individuals, and appreciate everyone's support. Rest assured if your loved one has been presumed positive or is exhibiting a change in condition, the resident representative will be contacted immediately.
CBS19 reached out to Highland Pines Nursing for a statement and have not heard back at this time.