A total of 15 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were evacuated from two Pinellas County long-term care facilities on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases in elder-care centers continues to rise in Tampa Bay and across Florida.
First-responders were sent to help move residents to local hospitals after outbreaks were discovered at St. Petersburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 521 Atwood Ave. N and Gulf Shore Care Center at 6767 86th Ave. in Pinellas Park, according to an email sent to the Pinellas County Commission.
It was not known how many patients came from which facility.
The decision to evacuate the patients came after the county’s Long-Term Care Task Force conducted a conference call with state officials to discuss the situation at both facilities, the email stated.
The Florida Department of Health and the state Agency for Health Care Administration and local fire departments are working with both facilities to test more patients and control the spread of the virus.
A representative at Gulf Shore Care Center, which is licensed for 120 beds, said no official would be available to answer questions until Tuesday.
An official at St. Petersburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which is licensed for 96 beds, could not be reached for comment late Monday.
This latest evacuation comes as six more residents of Freedom Square of Seminole died in recent days, according to recently released reports from the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office.
That brings the total to 30 residents and one employee who have died as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a Tampa Bay Times count of medical examiner reports.
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