COVID-19 UPDATE – MAY 5, 2020

May 5, 2020

Friends and Family of Santa Marta,

Further to our update from Friday, May 1, we have very good news to share. The group we identified through contact tracing based off our COVID-positive team member have all returned negative tests for the virus.

We’re very grateful for their cooperation and understanding. These residents will remain quarantined in their apartments through today to allow for two full weeks of isolation.

The COVID-positive team member continues to self-isolate at home, and thankfully appears asymptomatic at this time. Given it’s been 14 days since their initial exposure to the virus, they have been retested. We should know the result in the coming days.

Currently, we don’t have plans to conduct additional widespread testing. Our testing protocols, and other precautionary measures, will continue to be guided by the medical experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kansas Department of Health & Environment.

Now is not the time to let our guard down. We implemented and have operated under aggressive controls for many weeks, and these mitigation efforts and preventative practices will remain in place and unchanged.

There will be an appropriate time where we can begin to ease restrictions – but not yet. Please maintain vigilance through social distancing, frequent hand washing, and use of masks and other personal protective equipment.

Further updates will be shared as appropriate. Please continue to watch our website and Facebook page closely for additional information.

Stay safe, and God bless.

Chet Surmaczewicz

Executive Director