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COVID-19

Spokane Veterans Home COVID-19 cases climb by 4 more; results for final 21 tests pending

“It’s the largest cluster of cases we’ve seen in one facility,” said Heidi Iyall, a Spokane Regional Health District public information officer, about 10 new positive COVID-19 cases at the Spokane Veterans House. (Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)

More than a quarter of the Spokane Veteran’s Home 84 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and tests for another 25% of the home’s population are pending.

Four new positive results were announced Thursday, one day after seven new resident cases and one new employee case were made public. A third employee also tested positive.

The home is the site of the county’s largest cluster of COVID-19, with 23 confirmed resident cases, including one death from the respiratory disease.

All 84 residents had been tested for COVID-19 by Thursday afternoon, with 40 negatives and results for 21 pending, according to the Washington Department of Veteran Affairs.

The one resident who has died from the disease was in end-of-life care and received care from an asymptomatic employee with COVID-19.

The home’s first 19 cases were each attributed to the same floor, where the facility has limited access to essential caregivers, according to the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs.

A team from MultiCare has been assisting the facility with testing and infection control measures but not patient care.

All residents remained in the care of the nursing home as of Wednesday evening.

Fifty-six staff members have been tested, with three positives and 18 negatives so far, according to the department. The asymptomatic employee, who returned to work with no symptoms before testing positive at the end of March, has recovered, while the other is in self-isolation at home.

No residents or staff at other Washington Department of Veterans Affairs nursing homes had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. Those locations include facilities in Port Orchard, Orting and Walla Walla.