Media Conference Regarding Covid 19 Exposure at Carter House in Blair
A media conference this morning at Blair City Hall involving Three Rivers Public Health Department, Washington County Emergency Management and others gave some details on the double Covid-19 infections found at Carter Place, a Blair Senior Facility.
Terra Uhing, director of Three Rivers says that some staff members and first responders were exposed to the virus when one of the infected residents was taken to the hospital. Standard medical procedures were used, but universal precautions, which include the use of a face mask, were not in place at that time.
The ambulance used was not prepped for Covid-19 precautions, but has since been decontaminated. It is being suggested that those first responders with the Blair Volunteer Fire and Rescue department decline responding to an emergency if they have a family member in a high risk category.
Carter House currently has 23 residents according to Uhing, but currently no others are showing symptoms of the virus. She says every incident should now be responded to as if it were a Covid-19 infection.
Some have criticized the “lockdown” restrictions at nursing facilities, but Uhing says those are standard state guidelines for communicable diseases that need to
be followed to the T in order to contain the spread of the illness.
- reported by Connie Green.