Another four residents of long-term care facilities in Carroll County have died of COVID-19, the county health department announced Wednesday.
Two more residents of Westminster Healthcare Center died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the death toll among residents there to 12. The center has had a total of 65 residents and 12 staffers (four Carroll residents) test positive.
Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster and Fairhaven in Sykesville each reported another resident death. Carroll Lutheran Village has now had 43 resident cases, 12 resident deaths and 14 staffer cases (12 Carroll residents). Fairhaven has now had 40 resident cases, 13 resident deaths and 23 staffer cases (five Carroll residents).
The health department announced a total of 14 new cases Wednesday, two of which were members of the community outside of what the county describes as congregate living facilities.
Four more “residents” of Central Maryland Correctional Facility in Sykesville have tested positive, bringing the case total to six there, including one staffer who lives in Carroll. One of the five “residents,” an inmate, who tested positive there later died.
Six more residents at Birch Manor Healthcare Center in Sykesville tested positive, as did another staffer who lives in Carroll. A total of 36 residents have been tested positive there, six residents have died and four staffers, all Carroll residents, have tested positive.
Brinton Woods Health and Rehab Center at Winfield has had a fifth resident confirmed with the disease. One resident has died there, and two staffers, neither of them Carroll residents, have tested positive.
Facilities that house multiple residents are particularly vulnerable to localized outbreaks — especially those that house the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.
But the virus threatens people of any age. Of the 373 people confirmed by the county to have the virus in the community, as of Wednesday, eight are younger than 10 years old; 19 are in the 10-19 range; 55 are 20-29 years old; 62 are 30-39; 53 are 40-49; 109 are 50-59; 44 are 60-69; 14 are 70-79; and nine are 80-89.
Of those 373 people, 184 are women and 188 are men, and the health department does not know the gender of another resident.
The health department has now announced 66 hospitalizations for COVID-19, up by two since Tuesday. The department considers 206 people to be recovered from the disease — no change since Tuesday.
According to health department data, Westminster has the most cases in Carroll, with 337 across two ZIP codes, followed by Sykesville/Eldersburg with 169, Mount Airy with 155, Manchester with 52, Keymar with 28, Hampstead with 29, Taneytown with 27, Finksburg with 21, and New Windsor with 15. Data is suppressed in ZIP codes with seven cases or fewer.
Anyone who thinks they or a family member might be showing coronavirus symptoms can call the Carroll County Health Department’s COVID-19 hotline, which is available 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. seven days a week at 410-876-4848, or contact their doctor. After hours, callers may leave a message or call 211. People with emergencies should continue to call 911.