12 COVID-19 outbreaks still underway at Northern Virginia long-term care facilities

Twelve outbreaks of coronavirus are still in progress at long-term care facilities in Northern Virginia, and the outbreaks overall have caused more than 60% of the region's COVID-19 related deaths, according to an InsideNoVa analysis of updated data from the Virginia Department of Health. 

The health department first released facility-specific data on outbreaks on June 19. At that time, about two-thirds of the coronavirus deaths in Northern Virginia could be attributed to those outbreaks.  That percentage has dropped slightly over the past four weeks as more of the outbreaks have been closed.

However, between 60.6% and 69.6% of the region's deaths are due to the 80 outbreaks that have been reported to the Virginia Department of Health through Thursday by nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in the Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William health districts.  Those outbreaks have resulted in between 607 and 697 of the region's 1,002 deaths, based on the health department's Friday report.  The exact number of total deaths is not available because data is suppressed for facilities with between one and four deaths for privacy reasons. 

By locality, the highest percentage of deaths associated with long-term care facility outbreaks is in Loudoun, where between 83 and 89 of the 102 deaths are due to the outbreaks.  The lowest percentage is in the Prince William health district, which consists of the county and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.  Of that district's 187 deaths, between 64 and 85 are due to long-term care facility outbreaks.

Statewide, outbreaks at long-term care facilities have resulted in 1,185 deaths, or 58.9% of the 2,013 total deaths. The data show 224 outbreaks statewide, with nearly a third, or 74, still in progress. In its daily update Friday, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association said there are 562 confirmed COVID-19 patients currently being treated in licensed nursing facilities.

The overall number of cases associated with the outbreaks in Northern Virginia through Friday, about 3,350, is less than 10% of the region's 34,600 positive cases, demonstrating the high fatality rate at the long-term care facilities.

The health department's data show that the deadliest outbreak in the region - and the state - was at Annandale Healthcare Center, 6700 Columbia Pike in Fairfax County, which reported 156 positive cases and 55 coronavirus-related deaths. The number of deaths was four more than reported in the first release of the data June 19. 

Fred Strattman, a spokesman for CommuniCare, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company that owns the Annandale facility, told InsideNoVa in an email that the facility only had 31 coronavirus-related deaths and has reached out to the Virginia Department of Health to correct the number. 

"I don’t know why it has not been corrected at this time," Strattman said. 

He added that one reason the facility had so many deaths was probably because it has an in-house dialysis unit, which means a larger portion of its residents fall into high-risk categories.

"There is data to suggest that it affects people with underlying health conditions, and those with compromised immune systems," he said. "Additionally, dialysis patients cannot be isolated the same way as other residents for the simple reason that they have be transported to dialysis three times a week.  That gives them a higher risk of exposure."

The next highest number of deaths in the state, 49, was reported at Canterbury Health and Rehab in the Richmond suburbs of Henrico County. Nine other facilities in Northern Virginia have had at least 20 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the health department data:

• Leewood Healthcare Center, Fairfax, 35 deaths.
• Birmingham Green, Manassas, 33
• Regency Care of Arlington, 30
• Cherrydale Health & Rehabilitation Center, Arlington, 28
• The Virginian Retirement Community, Fairfax, 26
• Dulles Health & Rehab, Fairfax, 22
• Burke Health Care Center, Fairfax, 21
• Potomac Falls Health and Rehab Center, Loudoun, 21
• Greenspring Village Assisted Living, Fairfax, 20

All of those outbreaks are either marked as closed or pending closure by the health department, which means no new cases have been reported within the past 28 days.   

The health department's Friday update included five outbreaks that were not listed in the initial June 19 report, including second outbreaks at two facilities:

• Goodwin House, Alexandria, which was reported June 30. So far, 14 cases and no deaths have been reported.
• A second outbreak at Leewood Health Care Center, which was reported May 28 but is now closed.  Nine cases and between one and four deaths were associated with this outbreak.
• A second outbreak at the Fairfax at Belvoir Woods in Fairfax, which was reported July 14 and has caused 16 cases and no deaths.  
• Two Loudoun County outbreaks that were reported to the health department April 23 but not included in the department's initial release: Ashleigh at Lansdowne (31 cases and nine deaths) and Poet's Walk (29 cases and six deaths).

The region's 12 outbreaks that are still in progress, according to the state health department are: 

• Goodwin House in Alexandria
• Sunrise of Arlington
• Arbor Terrace at Herndon
• Fairfax Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Harmony at Spring Hill in Fairfax
• Mount Vernon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Spring Hills Mount Vernon
• Sunrise of Hunter Mill in Fairfax
• Sylvestery of Vinson Hall
• The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods 
• Ashby Ponds in Loudoun
• Envoy of Woodbridge in Prince William  

All other outbreaks listed in the chart below are either closed or pending closure, according to the Health Department.