Kane's Glen Hazel facility up to 12 coronavirus deaths as state weighs releasing nursing home data

State officials on Tuesday said coronavirus case numbers in care facilities and prisons will continue to be a part of a county’s total case count despite some calls for those numbers to excluded.

Both Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said those cases are an important part of county totals, particularly as cases in those types of congregate living situations continue to rise locally and statewide.

“Whether it is a long-term care facility, whether it is a correctional facility, whether it is a food processing or manufacturing facility – they are all part of the county,” Levine said during her daily press briefing. “They all have employees that work in those counties and live in those counties and could contribute to possible community spread in those counties.”

Locally, Kane Community Living’s Glen Hazel location is up to 12 coronavirus-related deaths among its residents. A total of 67 residents have tested positive, 35 have been negative and one test is pending. The facility is home to 174 residents.

At the same location, 41 employees have tested positive and 36 have been negative. About 216 people work at the facility. One employee has tested positive in each of Kane’s other locations: Scott, McKeesport and Ross.

Across the state, 9,625 residents have tested positive across 495 care facilities, and 2,029 have died. Nearly 1,300 employees in such facilities have also tested positive.

Levine said the National Guard has been sent to help some of the more “severely affected” care facilities, though she did not identify which facilities.

She also said a decision will come this week on whether the state will release the names of the 495 care facilities that have positive cases of covid-19.

“We’re trying to balance the privacy concerns and legal right to privacy for the residents of nursing homes with their loved ones’ and the public’s right to know,” she said

Wolf said state officials will not remove nursing home or prison numbers from the county totals but noted he is taking that into consideration.

Allegheny County Jail cases

At the Allegheny County Jail, about 1,641 people remain incarcerated, though more than 1,200 have been released since mid-March in an effort to minimize the spread of the virus. So far, 27 inmates have tested positive for the virus, and four have either been released or recovered.

That number has remained steady since last week.

Five jail staff members have now contracted the virus, and tests are pending for five others. Thirty-three employees have been negative.

Allegheny County officials have said there are no plans to do mass testing at the jail, though such testing at the Montgomery County Jail turned up 30 times more positive inmates than officials thought they had.

The Department of Corrections has tracked the number of inmate and employee cases across all of its facilities, including the training academy and parole office. In total, three inmates have died from the virus and 84 have tested positive. The three deaths all occurred at SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County, where a total of 52 employees and 29 inmates have tested positive.