12 staff members at Westmoreland Manor test positive for coronavirus

Twelve staff members at Westmoreland Manor, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield, recently tested positive for coronavirus, the facility announced Thursday.

Since Sept. 19, the number of residents testing positive stands at 152; the number of staff with positive test results has reached 60, according to Assistant Administrator Abby Testa. Six residents have died of covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic.

Westmoreland County set a new daily record for cases on Wednesday, when 273 new coronavirus cases were added. In the past 15 days, the county has seen more covid cases (2,728) than all of October and September combined (2,657).

The county saw another seven covid-related deaths added on Wednesday — setting a new record seven-day total of 41 deaths. To date, Westmoreland has seen 179 fatalities because of the coronavirus.

According to the state’s covid-19 tracking website, 81 Westmoreland County residents are hospitalized with the virus — 12 of them in intensive care units and six of them on ventilators. State officials report there are 89 operational ventilators in the county, with 15 (16.8%) currently in use for all illnesses.

To date, the county has recorded 8,159 cases of covid-19.

Testa said strict infection control practices are being maintained at the Manor. All residents and staff are being monitored and screened daily, she added.