Belleville long-term care center’s outbreak grows to 17 possible coronavirus patients
The number of people to test positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms of the respiratory disease at Four Fountains in Belleville has doubled since Sunday, when the health department began reporting outbreaks at long-term care facilities.
In the health department’s first update on those facilities Sunday, it reported eight people at Four Fountains either had symptoms or a formal diagnosis and that one person had died. To date, there has been no increase in deaths.
But on Monday, there were four more known or suspected COVID-19 patients, either because of a test result or their symptoms, at Four Fountains. Another person was added to the total Tuesday. And with five on Wednesday, the total grew to 17 people.
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, has said repeatedly at state officials’ daily briefings during the pandemic that it is difficult to prevent the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 from spreading in “congregate settings” like nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
“We knew even before we got into having the large numbers of long-term care facilities with cases that that would be one of our hardest areas,” Ezike said Sunday. “We know that congregate settings, by definition, it’s hard to be able to do the physical or social distancing and be able to separate and isolate people.”
The St. Clair County Health Department has not said how many of those COVID-19 patients are residents or employees. A representative from Four Fountains could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Other long-term care facilities in Belleville — Memorial Care Center and BRIA of Belleville — have each had one new COVID-19 patient since Sunday, according to the health department. Colonnade in O’Fallon has remained at two patients throughout the week.
Here are the latest numbers on COVID-19 patients at St. Clair County facilities released by the health department:
- Four Fountains in Belleville - 17 patients, one death
- Memorial Care Center in Belleville - 14 patients, one death
- BRIA of Belleville - 12 patients, one death
- Colonnade in O’Fallon - two patients
The Illinois Department of Public Health also began releasing data on outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities caused by the coronavirus at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/long-term-care-facility-outbreaks-covid-19. But Four Fountains is not currently listed on the state’s website.
The state’s data will be updated weekly based on information submitted by health departments and laboratories. There could be delays in reporting those statistics to the state while the facilities and health departments focus on protecting residents and staff, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. There is another delay built into the state’s reporting because statistics are changing hourly: the data online is what had been submitted a day before publication.
St. Clair County has been providing daily updates on the outbreaks at long-term care facilities during 3:30 p.m. live streams by the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency on Facebook.
Family members of residents in those facilities should be provided more information and receive notification earlier if their loved one has COVID-19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The agency states on its website that facilities must notify family or anyone responsible for a resident’s care “immediately upon diagnosis” if their loved one has COVID-19. Families should also hear from the facility if anyone there has COVID-19 and be told whether it is a resident or staff member who is infected.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 7:16 PM.
