photo by: Lauren Fox

The Pioneer Ridge Health Center at 4851 Harvard Road in Lawrence.

After three rounds of mass testing, 21 employees and 29 residents at Pioneer Ridge Health & Rehab have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the company that manages the facility.

Of those 50 positive cases, 32 people have recovered, said Ali Ellis, marketing director for Midwest Health. The company received the full results of the third round of mass testing on Wednesday. Eight residents and five employees tested positive.

Ellis said there are 44 residents at Pioneer Ridge Health & Rehab. That means that about 66% of residents at the skilled nursing facility contracted the virus. One resident has died from COVID-19, the Journal-World has previously reported.

Despite new cases being announced after every round of mass testing, Ellis said that Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health has recommended that the facility not do another round of mass testing, but instead only test residents and employees who are symptomatic.

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health spokesman George Diepenbrock said that the health department follows the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s guidelines regarding testing in congregate living situations.

“According to that protocol, Pioneer Ridge was allowed two rounds of testing through KDHE’s lab, which is the standard set by the state for asymptomatic testing in congregate living situations,” he said in an email to the Journal-World. “Beyond that, we also recommended Pioneer Ridge work with a private lab for any continued testing. We would not discourage them from continuing to test through a private testing facility.”

Pioneer Ridge Health & Rehab, located at 4851 Harvard Road, has separate staff and residents from Pioneer Ridge’s independent and assisted living communities.

Douglas County has reported 1,261 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, an increase of 65 cases since Wednesday.

The county has averaged about 32 new cases per day over the last 14 days, according to a 14-day moving average graph updated weekdays by the health department. Previously, the highest 14-day average was about 35 cases per day in mid-August. The current average of 32 new cases per day is up significantly from a recent low of about nine cases per day in early August.

photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Aug. 27 COVID-19 update from the health department

In Douglas County, 852 out of the 1,261 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.

Seven patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Thursday, the same number as Wednesday. Eight Douglas County residents have died thus far from COVID-19 or with the virus as a contributing factor in their deaths.