2 Dozen Residents at North Carolina Assisted Living Center Positive for COVID-19

About two dozen residents at an assisted living center in western North Carolina have tested positive for COVID-19, marking a new case cluster in the state at corporate living facilities such as nursing homes.

The Henderson County Health Department and Cherry Springs Village in Hendersonville announced the outbreak at the center on Sunday.

The large number of positive cases followed additional testing of residents when a single case at Cherry Springs was confirmed last week, the Henderson health department said in a news release.

Individuals who tested positive were being treated in isolation, and the center is under quarantine, Cherry Springs said in a statement.

More than a dozen congregate settings – such as nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, adult care homes and correctional facilities – are currently in ongoing outbreaks in North Carolina, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

An outbreak is defined as at least two laboratory confirmed cases.

Nearly 30 cases have been reported at an adult care home in Northampton County, health officials said. One resident at the adult care home who tested positive died last month in a Virginia hospital, his daughter said.

DHHS reported on Sunday close to 2,600 positive COVID-19 cases statewide, an increase of more than 180 since Saturday. There were 31 deaths, compared to 24 on Saturday. More than 260 people were hospitalized at the time.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, and the vast majority survive. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause pneumonia or death.