PEORIA, Ill – The Peoria City/County Health Department announced two new COVID-19 cases and one additional death in the Tri-County area on Monday at their news briefing.
The person who died was a Tazewell County male in his 80s. The male was being cared for at the long-term care facility Generations at Riverview.
The following is a statement from Riverview Senior Living:
The health and safety of our residents and staff at Riverview Senior Living is our highest priority and we have implemented all best practices in infectious disease protocol at Riverview. We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our residents and offer our sincerest condolences to their family. We are also concerned about the health and welfare of our residents who have been hospitalized. We take the threat of infection extremely seriously and we are working around the clock to protect residents and staff from this threat.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, Riverview Senior Living has been in regular communication with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Tazewell County Health Department. Beginning on March 6, 2020, all staff and visitors to our home were pre-screened before they were allowed in the building. Access to our home has been strictly limited to essential healthcare workers and caregivers since IDPH issued their first order to limit access on March 13. In addition to health screenings at the start of each shift, employees are also screened every four hours.
Riverview Senior Living is adequately stocked with personal protective equipment and all employees who work at Riverview adhere to the highest standards of infection control protocol and use personal protective equipment. Riverview also employs infectious disease specialists that we regularly communicate with. To help our staff during these stressful times, Riverview Senior Living has increased hourly wages by $2 over the course of the next thirty days.
Riverview Senior Living is following strict isolation procedures in case any resident or employee becomes symptomatic. We rigorously adhere to all policies and procedures from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control to ensure continued safety of our residents and staff. We sincerely sympathize with anyone who has been affected by this illness.
There are now 32 cases: 12 in Peoria County, 14 in Tazewell County and six in Woodford County.
Among the Tazewell County count are four positive and two pending tests at Generations at Riverview. The cases are residents, and they are hospitalized, said Tazewell County Health Department Communications Manager Sara Sparkman.
Sparkman added that residents and employees of the long-term care facility have been following guidelines set forth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, the two new cases that were reported by Tazewell County over the weekend were community spread, according to Sparkman. Community spread means that the cases did not have known contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Peoria City Mayor Jim Ardis voiced his pleasure with many stores in the area taking steps to protect customers.
Many grocery stores in the Peoria area have limited the number of customers allowed in the store as well as enforcing social distancing in their stores.
