A dozen weeks after Covid vaccinations began for residents and staff at Iowa nursing homes, there is an active Covid outbreak at just one nursing home.
In the first week of December, 167 nursing homes were reporting Covid outbreaks. A record 5609 residents and staff had the virus on December 8, 2020. Today, the state website tracking coronavirus statistics show just one nursing home has a current outbreak, the 13 cases at the Vista Wood Care Center in Wapello County.
Throughout the pandemic, the state has defined an active outbreak at a long-term care facility as when at least three residents test positive for the virus, but a separate statistic on the website includes an accounting of staff members who test positive.
The state website indicates there have been no positive cases reported at the Ottumwa facility in the past 14 days and 11 of the 13 have recovered from the virus.