At least 50 residents and 23 employees at one Allegheny County-owned nursing home have coronavirus, and employees at other county nursing homes have also tested positive.

Four residents at Kane Community Living Center’s Glen Hazel location have died from the virus, which first appeared in the facility in late March when an employee was diagnosed. Two residents tested positive two days later.

The virus had been limited to the Glen Hazel facility until this week. Now, one resident and one employee at the McKeesport location have tested positive along with one employee in Scott and one employee in Ross, according to county data through Thursday.

The county reported 26 positive cases among Glen Hazel residents the day prior.

No residents have tested positive in the Scott or Ross facilities, though four residents’ tests are pending at each location.

Dr. Mario Fatigati, Kane’s chief medical officer, said it’s impossible to try to go back to figure out when and how the virus first got into the facility.

He said the nature of the virus makes it difficult to track, trace and get a handle on.

“The one daunting thing about the covid virus is, many times, people have the virus and have no symptoms,” he said. “It makes screening very difficult.”

Executive Director Dennis Biondo agreed, saying that although Kane began screening employees and residents early on, the lack of symptoms make that difficult.

“You don’t know when a resident or staff member has it until after symptoms appear, and that, in many cases, is too late – it’s already in the building,” he said.

The county has begun tracking recoveries within the nursing homes, defining “recovered” as at least 14 days after the onset of symptoms with no symptoms for three days. A physician must deem the resident recovered.

At the Glen Hazel facility, 29 residents have tested negative and 17 tests are pending, while 32 employees have been negative and five employee tests are pending. Eight Glen Hazel residents have recovered, according to the county’s data.

In Scott, five employees have tested negative and four tests are pending. Eight were negative in McKeesport and four are pending. In the Ross facility, 10 have been negative and one is pending.

Fatigati said a lack of testing early on made things difficult, though 96 Glen Hazel residents have been tested so far.

He said early and aggressive testing will continue to be key, and Dibondo said the facilities are preparing to deal with the virus in the long-term.

“We’re not looking at this as something that by the end of April … will go away,” he said. “The lessons learned over the past month and a half will serve us well with what the future brings.”

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