No changes have been made to the Juneau Pioneer Home visitor policy since three residents and one staff member have at the Anchorage Pioneer Home tested positive for the coronavirus, said Gina Del Rosario, administrator at the Juneau home.
There are no reports of cases at other homes, and in June, a Fairbanks Pioneer Home employee tested positive, according to the Department of Health and Social Services. This is the first report of the virus among residents.
“There is no change to the Juneau Pioneer’s Home already tight COVID process,” Del Rosario told the Empire Friday. “We’ve actually done refresher education to reemphasize how important it is (to protect residents).”
The Juneau home already has policies in place to prevent the coronavirus from entering the building, Del Rosario said. Staff members are tested every two weeks and residents every month, she said. The staff had just completed the fourth round of testing since the home reopened to visitors in June which, with the exception of a few results yet to be returned, produced all negative results.
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Del Rosario said she was impressed by the response of the staff of the Anchorage Pioneer Home, saying she was glad to see such a quick reaction from staff and state agencies.
“I’m very pleased with the teamwork and how fast they’re wanting to work, the Anchorage Pioneer Home is doing exactly what we planned for,” Del Rosario said.
According to DHSS, the residents at the Anchorage home who’ve tested positive are being isolated and will have dedicated staff, to the extent that’s possible.
The COVID-positive staff member is self-isolating at home, DHSS said in a news release, and the Anchorage home will undergo a thorough cleaning among other precautionary measures.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnoEmpire.
