Almost all Canyon Creek Memory Care residents and staff now have Covid-19, and eight residents have died of the disease, according to officials.
On June 30, a Canyon Creek resident began showing symptoms of Covid-19, Chase Salyers, a spokesman for Koelsch Senior Communities, the company that manages the facility, told CNN.
After that person’s test came back positive, the center tested everyone on July 3, Salyers explained.
That number has grown since then. At least 55 residents and 36 staff members have tested positive, Pat Zellar, a spokesman for RiverStone Health, Yellowstone County’s public health department, told CNN.
As of Tuesday, eight residents have died from the disease, Zellar said. Two of those deaths have occurred since Sunday.
The state of Montana offered free tests on June 16, Salyers confirmed.
However, Salyers said the state testing program “would not really have evaluated all residents, but a limited sample of individuals within the community.”
“Also, from the start of the outbreak, residents of our community were already being evaluated and all of those results were negative,” added Salyers.
“Any of our residents who showed symptoms since the outbreak began were immediately referred for testing,” said Salyers.
The eight deaths at Canyon Creek represent nearly 25% of the state’s death toll and more than 60% of the county’s death toll.
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