Pleasant View Nursing Home Coronavirus: 1 Dead, 66 Reported Cases

MOUNT AIRY, MD — One person has died and nearly one dozen are hospitalized after an outbreak of the new coronavirus at a Mt. Airy nursing home. Of the residents at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mt. Airy who tested positive for the virus, the governor said 11 are currently hospitalized.

After 66 people at one nursing home in Carroll County tested positive for the new coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan declared the pandemic a "rapidly evolving and escalating emergency" for the region.

"Multiple state agencies are on the scene and working closely with the local health department and the facility as they take urgent steps to protect additional residents and staff who may have been exposed," Hogan said, calling it a "tragic coronavirus outbreak."

The hospitalized residents are being treated at Carroll County Hospital and Frederick Memorial Hospital, according to the Carroll County Health Department.

A man in his 90s with "a lot of underlying health conditions" died Saturday night, Carroll County Health Officer Ed Singer said Sunday.

Two positive cases were reported Friday, and 64 additional cases were confirmed Saturday at the comprehensive care facility with 104 beds, according to Singer.

"I don't think it's extremely unusual to see something like this when it's unknown [that someone has the virus] to spread through a nursing home this way," Singer said. "We're awaiting additional results for the remaining residents and symptomatic staff."

To help keep staff safe, the Carroll County Health Department reported it provided the nursing home with personal protective equipment, and Carroll Hospital has channeled staff and resources to support Pleasant View Nursing Home as well.

"We’re maintaining constant communication and will continue to provide resources and support to the patients, their families and facility staff during this difficult time," Singer said in a statement Saturday night. "Pleasant View Nursing Home continues to cooperate with and follow the guidance of the Maryland Department of Health and the Carroll County Health Department."

The Maryland Department of Health recommended March 10 that facilities serving older adults screen visitors and restrict visitation to prevent the spread of the virus.

Pleasant View complied with the guidance, according to county health officials, who reported the facility has screened staff, restricted communal dining, stopped group activities, stepped-up its cleaning efforts, checked staff and residents daily for symptoms and isolated any residents with symptoms of COVID-19.

"As we have been warning for weeks, older Marylanders and those with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable and at a significantly higher risk of contracting this disease," Hogan said in a statement Saturday night.

Among those at greatest risk of complications from coronavirus are people 65 and older and those who live in nursing home or long-term care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

News of the nursing home outbreak in Mt. Airy came within hours of the announcement that the number of those who died from coronavirus in Maryland went from five this morning to 10 this evening, including these people:

• A Baltimore City woman in her 60s with underlying medical conditions
• A Baltimore City woman in her 80s with underlying medical conditions
• A Charles County man in his 50s
• A Prince George's County man in his 50s
• A Wicomico County woman in her 60s with underlying medical conditions

"This is a rapidly evolving and escalating emergency which is now surrounding the nation’s capital," Hogan said in a statement Saturday night.

It took three days to go from 1,000 to 2,000 cases of confirmed coronavirus in the region, Hogan said, after it took three weeks to go from 0 to 1,000.

Previously, the governor had said the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 was expected to rapidly rise since more tests were being administered.

In Maryland, 11,516 people have been tested for the virus as of Saturday morning; 992 tests have come back positive; 226 people have been hospitalized; and 32 people have been released from isolation, according to state health officials.

"I want to thank all of the doctors, nurses, and first responders all across our state who are working around the clock to respond to this pandemic," Hogan said.

"We continue to call for Marylanders to stay at home, except for essential reasons, in order to help stop the spread of this virus," Hogan said. "We are leveraging the full arsenal of public health and government, but defeating this invisible enemy will require a unity of effort and spirit like nothing we have ever faced.”

See Also:

• Maryland Coronavirus Deaths Double In One Day, Cases Exceed 1,200
• 5 MoCo Nursing Home Residents, Staff Have Coronavirus
• 'Dramatic Increase' To 992 MD Coronavirus Cases, 10 Deaths
• 2 Baltimore Women Die From Coronavirus: Mayor