Editor’s note: This story has been updated with corrections. WKOK apologizes for an earlier error.
SUNBURY – The first positive COVID-19 case has been confirmed in a Valley nursing home. In its daily update Wednesday, the state Department of Health confirmed the case is at a facility in Northumberland County.
Northumberland County Agency on Aging Director Karen Leonovich says county officials don’t know the person’s current condition or if that person has been hospitalized. Leonovich says it’s also unknown which of the seven nursing homes or 15 personal care homes in the county is affected. The nursing homes are licensed by the Department of Health, and the personal care homes are licensed by the PA Department of Human Services.
Leonovich says the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, and the state department of health put out guidance to all nursing and personal care homes to make sure they were using universal precautions and maintain appropriate care for residents. She says facilities in the county will continue to use those precautions.
Meanwhile, the county’s Adult Community Centers in Shamokin, Herndon, Mount Carmel, Kulpmont, Sunbury, Milton, and Northumberland have been closed to the public since March 17 and will remain locked down until the state gives the all clear to reopen them.
