Virus cases slow at Westmoreland Manor

Coronavirus cases continue to mount at Westmoreland Manor, but the number of new infections has slowed in recent weeks.

County officials said Thursday that, over the last two weeks, five residents and four employees have tested positive for the virus at the nursing home in Hempfield. With those most recent cases there are now have been 143 residents and 43 staffers at the county-owned nursing home who have been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak started on Sept. 19, according to Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew.

“The decrease in positive cases is a sign that the Manor is on the right track,” Chew said. “We are very appreciative … of all Manor employees who are working so hard to rid us of this virus.”

Westmoreland County issued its last formal update regarding coronavirus cases at the Manor on Oct. 22, when officials reported that a sixth resident died after contracting the illness. At that time, the county had 135 residents of the 408-bed facility diagnosed with coronavirus along with 35 employees.

With the new numbers disclosed Thursday, the county has seen 13 additional residents and eight more staffers test positive over the last three weeks.

The Pennsylvania National Guard was called in to assist with testing of residents and employees at the Manor in late September and remained on site for about two weeks.

Residents and staff are routinely tested for coronavirus and officials said that will continue until at least 14 days have passed without any new cases reported.

“The cases are slowing down. However, they are still increasing and we are taking every precaution,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli. “We are headed in the right direction but not out of the woods yet.”

Coronavirus cases throughout the state and Westmoreland County have skyrocketed in recent days. Both Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County hit record numbers of new cases on Thursday, with nearly 5,500 new cases statewide and 207 cases reported in the county.

New cases also were discovered at the county courthouse with the quarantining of a judge and his staff and an outbreak at the elections bureau that has so far impacted six employees and slowed the counting of provisional ballots cast during last week’s election.