MIDLAND, Texas — The City of Midland Health Department is reporting several people connected to Midland Medical Lodge have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Four administrative employees and a part-time nurse whose test came back on April 14 have been confirmed among the 64 people diagnosed.
Additionally, multiple patients are residents at the nursing facility. Two tests also came back as positive on April 14. A third resident was diagnosed April 15.
The fourth and fifth cases were diagnosed on April 16 while the sixth and seventh weren't diagnosed until April 20.
Several more tests came back as positive on April 20.
Most of the residents are inpatients at the hospital. One is a woman in her 80s while another is a woman in her 70s. The third is a woman in her 90s.
The fourth and fifth cases are both men. One is in his 80s while another is in his 70s.
The sixth case is a female in her 80s in the lodge's isolation area. The seventh, a woman in her 70s, is also an inpatient at MMH.
Two of the residents have died. One, a woman in her 90s, passed away on April 17. The second, a woman in her 80s, died April 21. Only four deaths have been reported in the county total.
The employees have all been self-isolating at home with the exception of the part-time nurse, who is an inpatient at Midland Memorial Hospital.
The Health Department says the facility has been following the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Guidelines for a nursing facility. It has also been fully cooperating with the City of Midland Health Department and state regulatory agencies.
Medical directors on-site have been screening residents every four hours and say they plan to test anyone who is symptomatic. The facility has also created an isolation wing to house any symptomatic residents.
All of the COVID-19-positive administrative staff members are isolating at home. The four will not return to work until released by the Health Department.
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