FLORENCE — In the past week, Lane County Public Health reported 152 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, nearly 20% of which came from an outbreak at Spruce Point Assisted Living and Memory Care in Florence.
Initial rapid testing found that eight staff members and 20 residents are infected, according to an email the facility shared with residents’ family members Monday. According to records from the Oregon Department of Human Services, the facility’s memory care and assisted-living wings have 97 beds total.
A news release from the facility said 87% of residents and 36% of staff are fully vaccinated. However, Jason Davis, spokesperson for Lane County Public Health, said when LCPH investigated the outbreak, facility staff said as few as 5% of staff were vaccinated.
“The seriousness of having an unvaccinated staff at a long-term care facility is just overwhelming,” Davis said. “As long as we have that high percentage of unvaccinated people, we’re going to continue to have these kind of outbreaks.”
The facility did not share how many of those infected are vaccinated and has not responded to requests for comment. Davis said the facility has ignored calls from LCPH.
People with loved ones inside the building shared concerns about the facility’s lack of transparency with The Register-Guard. Residents are currently being asked to stay inside their apartments.
Oregonians living in assisted-living facilities were among the first with access to COVID-19 vaccines and senior citizens have demonstrated that they are more likely to get a shot than younger generations, but public health officials have warned that infections among the vaccinated, sometimes called breakthrough cases, are to be expected, especially among vulnerable groups.
— Eugene Register-Guard
