PORTLAND, Ore. (Portland Tribune) — Six residents of a Newberg retirement facility succumbed to the COVID-19 virus during a deadly period that stretched over the course of 11 days.
The Yamhill County Health Department announced late Monday afternoon that six unidentified individuals died at Astor House at Springbrook Oaks from March 27 to April 8. The toll represents all the deaths from the coronavirus in the county and are among the 53 deaths reported in the state as of Tuesday.
A total of 32 individuals have tested positive for the disease in Yamhill County the past six weeks, including 11 at Astor House, which has approximately 100 residents. The actual number of COVID-positive individuals in the county is suspected to be greater as some sufferers have not been tested, which is required before they can be added to the roles of the afflicted. As of Tuesday, 806 individuals have tested negative for the disease in Yamhill County.
Lindsay Manfrin, director of the Yamhill County Department of Health and Human Services, said all of the deceased Astor House residents had underlying health conditions. They were all 90 years or older, she added.
Five additional Astor House residents have tested positive for COVID-19, a joint press release from the health department and the retirement facility’s parent company, Holiday Retirement, said. Holiday Retirement is a Winter Park, Fla.-based company with hundreds of facilities in 43 states.
The five COVID-19-positive residents of the facility “are in self-isolation in their apartments within the community,” the release said, adding that “additional Astor House community members have been tested with negative results.”
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Manfrin said Astor House continues to operate under the “extreme protocols” suggested by the county health department and the Centers for Diseases Control Prevention (CDC) since the first resident was diagnosed at the Brutscher Street facility in March.
“These protocols include isolation for all residents, no entry to the facility for non-essential visitors, health screening and temperature checks for essential visitors, meals delivered to the doorstep of residents, enhanced cleaning/sanitizing of surfaces and “administered individual activities such as dog walking,” the release said.
Manfrin added that the county isn’t responsible for the medical care of the Astor House residents, adding “As with any independent living situation, the residents are working with their own healthcare providers to receive any needed care.”