HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) - A nursing home in Huntington Beach is reporting a spike of COVID-19 cases, with 74 cases of the disease, 50 of them among its residents.
Two of the residents -- a 77-year-old and a 79-year-old -- died over the last two days, a Huntington Valley Healthcare Center official told the Orange County Register.
Fourteen other patients are hospitalized, the official said, although it is unknown how many of them are in need of intensive care. The remaining 34 patients are self-isolating in the Huntington Beach facility.
All of the 24 staff members who have tested positive have minor symptoms and are in self-isolation, according to an announcement by the facility. The center has about 100 patients and 100 staff members.
The official who spoke to the Register on Tuesday evening said he wasn't sure if every resident and staff member has been tested for the virus. The facility “has essentially been on lockdown,” he said, with only authorized health care professionals allowed since March 12. Those professionals have been monitored for any possible signs of the virus, he said, adding the first sign of the virus in the facility was about 10 days ago.
As of April 17, according to data collected by the California Department of Public Health, 12 nursing homes in Orange County, including Huntington Valley Healthcare Center, have reported at least one case of the coronavirus. However, no nursing homes reported an explosion of more than 20 cases.