Manassas Long-Term Care Facility Reports 19 Coronavirus Cases

MANASSAS, VA — Nine staff members and 10 residents at the Birmingham Green long-term care facility in Manassas have tested positive for the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, according to the facility. Birmingham Green officials said other residents and staff members are under investigation for the coronavirus and are isolating as a precautionary measure.

The staff members who tested positive are at home self-isolating or have completed a 14-day quarantine period. Isolation precautions are in place for the facility's residents who tested positive, Birmingham Green said Thursday in a news release.

"This is a fluid situation, and information is being shared as it becomes available," Birmingham Green said. "Our residents are at the center of all that we do and their safety, and the safety of our staff, will always be our priority."

The Birmingham Green campus, located on Centreville Road (Route 28), is composed of a 36-bed District Home Assisted Living, a 180-bed Health Care Center and the Willow Oaks Assisted Living, a 92-unit supportive housing facility that opened in 2008 to offer assisted living services. The Health Care Nursing Center is a 100-percent Medicaid facility, the only such facility in Northern Virginia.

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Manassas has reported 137 positive cases of the coronavirus and one death. Manassas Park has reported 44 people with the coronavirus and one death. In surrounding Prince William County, 1,110 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 18 people have died.

"It worries me to no end to read about the 10 residents and nine staffers at Birmingham Green testing positive for COVID-19," Del. Danica Roem of Virginia's 13th district said Friday in a tweet. "I dropped off 50 donated medical masks and a bunch of hand sanitizer there because they’re so vulnerable. It’s scary for everyone."

It worries me to no end to read about the 10 residents and nine staffers at Birmingham Green testing positive for COVID-19. I dropped off 50 donated medical masks and a bunch of hand sanitizer there because they’re so vulnerable. It’s scary for everyone.https://t.co/YAnR7M9YgM
— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) April 24, 2020

Birmingham Green officials said they are following guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and local and state health agencies to stop the spread of the coronavirus in their community.

The facility is restricting visitors from entering buildings. A designated area in Birmingham Green's health care center — its nursing home — has been set up for coronavirus-related and suspected cases. Birmingham Green has placed a hold on on new admissions. All group activities and communal dining has been canceled until further notice.

The Virginia Department of Health has reported 176 outbreaks of the coronavirus in the state, with 98 of those outbreaks occurring in long-term care facilities. Eight outbreaks have been reported in the Prince William Health District. The VDH defines an outbreak as two or more lab-confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the same facility.

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