Three residents and one staff member of the Anchorage Pioneer Home have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
The first case was reported to officials on Wednesday afternoon, and the other three positives were detected in subsequent testing. According to DHSS, the three residents live in “the same neighborhood” within the home. That neighborhood is separated from other neighborhoods, and all the positive patients are in isolation.
In July, the state announced that it was reopening the state’s Pioneer Homes to limited in-person visitation, though the Anchorage Pioneer Home said at the time that it wouldn’t be reopening due to high case rates in the city. DHSS says the home has been closed to visitors since March 17.
According to its website, the Anchorage Pioneer Home has capacity for 168 residents. The Pioneer Home system serves Alaska residents over 65, and the Anchorage Pioneer Home says on its website that its oldest resident is 104. According to the CDC, older people are more susceptible to the symptoms of COVID-19 and nursing home populations are at a particularly high risk for outbreaks.
There has been only one other positive case in the state’s Pioneer Home system, according to DHSS. It occurred in Fairbanks in June and was reported in an employee.
In May, a large COVID-19 outbreak developed among residents at a transitional care facility in Anchorage.
This is a developing story.
