AVON LAKE, Ohio — A retirement community in Avon Lake has reported a cluster of COVID-19 cases.
According to the city, 11 new positive cases from Main Street Towne Center Community Campus has been reported. There have been 17 cases total reported at the facility.
Sam Hemoud, who has his 75-year-old father living at the facility, told News 5 he wasn't given any information about the center's coronavirus action plan when called with concerns on April 6.
Hemoud believes the Avon Lake nursing home should be more transparent about its plan after the cluster of confirmed cases
“You started off with symptoms, then three on Monday, then 12 I believe on Wednesday, and 17 on Thursday, you have a problem on your hands,” Hemoud said.
“From a lot of officials and leaders I was getting a lot of crickets, like oh refer to the website, the website has a lot of information. I don’t need information, I need action.”
“Why did you go into dark mode all of a sudden.”
Lorain County Public Health Commissioner David Covell told News 5 his team is working with the facility on a daily basis.
"Lorain County Public Health is working closely with the facility to control the spread of COVID_19," Covell said.
"Our epidemiology team is in daily contact to help with isolation and quarantine, cleaning and testing. The facility has been proactive in working with us to isolate both positive and symptomatic patients.”
A regional director with the Main Street Towne Center Community Campus responded to the Hemoud family on April 9, and said a COVID-19 plan would be released in the coming days.
The retirement community released the following statement:
"Earlier this week several cases of COVID 19 presented at Main Street Care Center. Currently, there are 17 active cases within the facility.
Executive Management is working directly with the Lorain County Public Health Department to follow all proper protocols during this time. They have notified all resident responsible parties, and continue to update them daily. They are utilizing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), isolated positive cases on a separate quarantine unit, and have set up a specific facility team that will only be caring for COVID positive cases.
Main Street is thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all resident and common areas within its facilities to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) standard. Education has been conducted with all facility staff regarding proper hand washing, transmission-based precautions, and the appropriate use of PPE.
Main Street Care Center has been preparing for this type of scenario for countless hours since the initial onset of the COVID-19 threat. Prior to their first positive case, Main Street began taking proactive actions to limit the spread of Coronavirus well before Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued the first Stay At Home order on March 23. On March 10, Main Street implemented its emergency response and prevention plan, including but not limited to:
- screening and monitoring residents and staff for signs and symptoms of COVID-19;
- Continually updating the educational information provided to staff, residents, and family from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), which is an important defense to preventing the spread of COVID-19;
- Maintaining appropriate staffing to maintain the environment of care.
On March 11, Main Street began prohibiting visitors, including family members, from its facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Staff and approved visitors such as first responders and critical delivery professionals are required to have their temperature taken and to answer a questionnaire before being allowed in the buildings.
We encourage resident members who have questions to call the nursing facility directly 440-930-6600."
Avon Lake has had a total of 34 cases and two deaths.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Read our daily Coronavirus Live Blog for the latest updates and news on coronavirus.
We're Open! Northeast Ohio is place created by News 5 to open us up to new ways of thinking, new ways of gathering and new ways of supporting each other.
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Ohio, a timeline of Governor Mike DeWine's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Northeast Ohio, and link to more information from the Ohio Department of Health, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, the CDC and the WHO.
See data visualizations showing the impact of coronavirus in Ohio, including county-by-county maps, charts showing the spread of the disease, and more.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
Here is everything you need to know about testing for coronavirus in Ohio.
Here's a list of things in Northeast Ohio closed due to coronavirus concerns
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
