Coronavirus Delaware: Staff Member At Stevenson House Detention Center Tests Positive
DOVER, Del. (CBS/AP) — A staff member at a second juvenile detention facility in Delaware has tested positive for the coronavirus, state officials said Tuesday. The employee of the Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford was self-isolating at home, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families said in a news release.
"This is a very difficult and stressful time for our staff, youth and families, and I cannot stress enough how we appreciate their flexibility and patience. COVID-19 has changed our way of life here in Delaware and the safety and wellbeing of our staff and youth remains our primary concern. We have implemented procedural changes to protect staff and youth, and make our decisions by following the guidance of public health officials. We will continue those efforts to protect our staff and youth. Despite the fact that we are in a time of great uncertainty, I am grateful our staff continues to strive every day to help youth rehabilitate and move forward with their lives," said Children, Youth and Their Families Secretary Josette Manning.
On Monday, the department had reported that a staff member at the Ferris School in Wilmington had tested positive. Officials said even though that employee had not reported to work for an extended period of time, other staff members were told to self-monitor as a precaution. They also said the area where the employee worked was immediately closed off and disinfected.
An employee of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families who works in an administrative building also has tested positive for the virus and is self-isolating at home, the agency said in a statement last week.
No juvenile housed at a state-run facility has tested positive for the virus so far, department spokeswoman Jen Rini said Tuesday. Department officials reported last week that a youth at a community-based program run by an outside contractor had tested positive for the virus and was recuperating at home.
More than 260 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Delaware as of Tuesday, including multiple people at long-term care facilities, and seven had died. More than 45 people had been hospitalized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
At least six residents of a memory care unit at HarborChase of Wilmington had tested positive for the virus as of Tuesday. The state's first death from the virus was that of an 86-year-old man living at the Little Sisters of the Poor Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark. Seven more residents have tested positive for the virus, health officials said.
The director of Brandywine Living at Seaside Pointe in Rehoboth told the News Journal of Wilmington that a resident who was in hospice care died from complications of the coronavirus on Sunday. State officials on Monday reported the death of a 92-year-old woman from Sussex County who had significant underlying health conditions but did not say whether she had been in a nursing home.
On Monday, Gov. John Carney ordered that all child care facilities in Delaware close by April 6, except for those serving children of "essential personnel" working at businesses deemed "essential."
As recently as last week, public health officials had said a widespread closure of child care centers was not necessary.
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