A client at a Cedar Rapids homeless shelter has tested positive for COVID-19, raising concerns others there may have been exposed.
Denine Rushing, shelter services director at the Willis Dady Emergency Shelter, says the individual spent the vast majority of time at the facility and is now recovering alone in an apartment. Others at the shelter are self-isolating in their rooms or apartments within the facility.
“Our frontline staff, they are delivering meals to the rooms for clients, so they don’t have to go out and worry about cooking and things like that,” Rushing says. “Basically, they’re just quarantining or self-isolating as you would do in your own home.”
All but essential staff are isolating at home for two weeks to prevent further spread. Rushing says clients are being monitored for any symptoms and provided with PPE.
“There’s multiple apartments there at the shelter and there’s no more than five individuals in an apartment together,” she says. “So just as you would self-isolate or quarantine at home with your family, this is the same thing our clients are doing.”
Rushing says the facility is working with the Linn County Public Health Department to manage the situation. She adds, the client is feeling better, after going to the ER, where they tested positive.
By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio