Sangamon County is reporting 41 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the most ever in a single day. Of those, 37 are affiliated with The Villas Senior Care Community in Sherman, according to a county spokesperson. There were 40 new confirmed cases announced Tuesday in total from the nursing home. 17 residents of the nursing home are current inpatients at Springfield hospitals.
The new infections announced Tuesday range from staff in their 20s to residents in their 90s, according to a release. The total number of confirmed positives related to The Villas includes 46 residents and 35 staff members, including five deaths. A week ago, Gail O’Neill, head of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health, told The State Journal-Register that the senior center had 81 residents and 115 staff.
Jeff Wilhite, a spokesperson for Sangamon County, said of the nearly 200 people affiliated with the nursing home, 19 still need to be tested.
The outbreak is the first of its kind in the area. The state’s public health department had prioritized testing for congregate settings, such as nursing homes. The state began releasing data it collects regarding infections at nursing homes earlier this month.
This article appears in Ramadan in Springfield.
