The Moore County Health Department has been notified of confirmed positive COVID-19 test results for a total of six staff members and 19 residents of Magnolia Gardens located in Southern Pines. In long-term care or congregate living settings, a COVID-19 outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases.
Testing conducted at Magnolia Gardens September 23 through 25 generated the facility’s 25 COVID-19 positive test results. Further testing is planned for September 30. Weekly testing for all residents and staff of the facility will continue until the conclusion of the outbreak. An outbreak is considered concluded if there is no evidence of transmission following a 28-day period.
With the addition of Magnolia Gardens, Moore County’s cumulative total of COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care and congregate living settings is now 12 since the pandemic began. Of the 12 total outbreaks Moore County has experienced, four have been declared concluded (Pinehurst Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, Fox Hollow, Seven Lakes Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Peak Resources Pinelake).
A COVID-19 cluster has also been identified in Moore County. The Moore County Health Department was notified of confirmed positive COVID-19 test results for one staff member and four residents of Crystal Lake Casaworks, a substance use rehabilitation facility located in Lakeview.
A COVID-19 cluster is defined as a minimum of five laboratory confirmed cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) uses the term “cluster” as opposed to “outbreak” for settings like Crystal Lake Casaworks because it can be difficult to accurately determine how transmission occurred and whether it occurred within the setting or from within the broader community. Clusters are similar to outbreaks in that they are considered concluded if there is no evidence of continued transmission within the setting following a 28-day period.
The COVID-19 cluster identified at Crystal Lake Casaworks is Moore County’s third since the pandemic began. A cluster was also identified at Magic Years Childcare Center in Robbins on July 23, another at Robbins Elementary School on August 26. The Magic Years Childcare Center cluster has since been declared concluded. The Robbins Elementary School cluster remains ongoing with a total of six confirmed COVID-19 cases.
In total, there have been 1,682 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Moore County to date.
File photo by Sandhills Sentinel Photographer John Patota.
