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Fourth COVID death at facility

Nursing home retests 15 residents, 9 workers Monday

A fourth resident of Sundale Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care facility in Morgantown died Saturday of COVID-19 complications.

The 85-year-old woman had an underlying health issue, said Donna Tennant, Sundale’s director of admissions and marketing.

This is the fourth COVID-19 death at the facility and the 24th overall in West Virginia, according to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The state also announced the COVID-19 related deaths of three other people, a 78-year-old female, a 79-year-old female, and a 95-year-old female, all from Jackson County.

Sundale, which has 100 beds, reported its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on March 22, a woman in her 70s. Since that time, more than 10 staff members and 21 residents have tested positive for the virus.

The average age of a Sundale resident is 85.

A follow-up coronavirus test last week showed six residents and one staff member had been cleared. Additional testing was done Monday on the 15 residents and nine Sundale employees who still had the virus. Those test results are expected to be made public sometime this week.

Tennant said Sundale continues to do almost daily sanitizing and deep disinfecting of the facility, as well as continually wiping down surfaces that are constantly touched. There continues to be no visitation, but residents are able to visit with their families through video conferencing.

Sundale residents with confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain in isolation on the first floor of Sundale.

TWEET @41Suzanne