Richmond city officials were notified Wednesday that TDEM will deploy the Texas Rapid Assessment Quick Reaction Force to the Cambridge Health and Rehabilitation Center to conduct a site assessment and administer additional COVID-19 test to all nursing home residents, healthcare workers and staff members. The testing is scheduled for Thursday.
Director Shelia Eapen said there had been no positive cases of their 88 residents and 87 staff members at the facility before now. Testing was conducted of all nursing home residents and staff last May. However, a new round of tests revealed 17 residents and five staff members were COVID-19 positive, despite the fact all are currently asymptomatic.
Eapen said notifications were sent to state and county officials, and families were notified.
“The family members of our residents have been very supportive throughout this time,” Eapen said. “They trust us.”
Richmond city leaders notified residents via email Wednesday. Due to health privacy laws, positive cases among Fort Bend County area nursing homes, long term care facilities and the Richmond State Supported Living Center are not made public.
However, state reports show 177 nursing homes in the greater Houston and Fort Bend County area currently have at least one positive COVID-19 resident and with an overall total of 3,027 cases, 309 deaths and 899 recoveries, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Richmond COVID-19 cases on the rise
The number of COVID-19 cases in Richmond has seen significant increase in recent weeks. Statistics provided by Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Department indicate Richmond currently has a total of 145 cases, an increase of roughly 50 percent over the last two weeks with 51 new cases since the July 7 total of 94 cases. Countywide, there are 6,130 confirmed cases currently, a 38.9 percent increase (1,717 cases) since July 7.“The city of Richmond is committed to working with our local community partners, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and the Texas Department of State Health Services to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in our community and surrounding areas,” city officials said in an email.
knix@hcnonline.com
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