The Cypress Cove Center nursing home facility in Muscle Shoals announced Tuesday that 19 residents and eight staff members there have tested positive for coronavirus.

In a news release, Dr. Richard Feifer, Chief Medical Officer, said “All patients, residents and staff will be tested twice-weekly to help prevent the spread of the virus. The majority of patients and residents are asymptomatic or already recovering.

The release also said:

During this pandemic, we have been stringent with restrictions and a whole host of other precautions. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began providing protocols and guidelines for the coronavirus, we have diligently followed them and in many cases, have gotten out in front of public health guidelines, adopting even more stringent infection precautions than were recommended at the time. We also continue to follow the direction of the Alabama Department of Health in an effort to contain and minimize the spread of the virus.

Some of the steps we have taken (and a full list can be found here):

-Screening residents and patients for symptoms - three times daily

-Actively screening and taking temperatures of all staff upon building entry

-Requiring all staff to wear personal protective equipment

-Visitation restrictions

-Cancellation of all outside medical appointments except for medically necessary, time-sensitive and life-saving treatments, such as dialysis and chemotherapy

-To make things easier for families, we have implemented the ability for families and loved ones to perform video conferencing calls using Zoom technology

-We have notified patients, residents and families and update them via regular video conference calls

Stay with WAAY 31 for updates.