UPDATE: April 21, 2020, Charles Borst, executive director of Westminster, confirmed to KXAN all employees and residents of the facility have recovered from COVID-19 and there are no new cases.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An employee of Westminster Senior Living Community in north Austin has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a company executive.
The positive test at Westminster marks the fourth senior living facility in Austin that has confirmed at least one positive COVID-19 resident or employee to KXAN since March 27.
Charles Borst, executive director of Westminster, confirmed the positive case. He said the employee is currently in self-quarantine, and all residents, employees and health officials are being provided with regular updates.
“The health and safety of our employees and residents is our top priority; therefore, we enhanced our internal processes and protocols at the onset of this health crisis to better protect our community,” Borst said in a statement. “We will remain flexible as this crisis evolves to ensure we’re following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Westminster is located at 4100 Jackson Avenue off Bull Creek Road.
Three other senior facilities in Austin confirmed positive COVID-19 tests in the past five days. Two patients tested positive for the virus at West Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Slaughter Lane. A group of residents at Gracy Woods Nursing Center on Metric Boulevard also received positive test resultss for the disease. And a worker at Brookdale Senior Living in West Lake Hills was confirmed to have COVID-19.
It is not clear exactly when these residents and employees tested positive or who they are. Federal health laws prevent the release of information that can identify a specific person’s health records or information.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The disease has spread across the globe, creating a global pandemic and shutting down cities and states. The elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions are most likely to have severe complications from the virus. Travis County has had 206 confirmed cases and two deaths. There have been over 3,627 cases in Texas according to KXAN’s COVID-19 cases tracker, and 181,000 in the US, according to the City of Austin’s COVID-19 tracker.