There’s an unsettled atmosphere at Maple Lawn Medical Care and Rehabilitation in Coldwater this week.  But it’s improving daily. It all follows news that an employee tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.  The employee had been working in several areas of the nursing and long term care facility in the week prior to the test. A supervisor says the female employee had been completing required screenings each day and was not symptomatic. That is the first verified virus case at the facility.  Maple Lawn had been setting up outdoor visitations for patients and friends and family but that has since been stopped. Now, Maple Lawn is keeping tight control on all actions of staff and residents and testing everyone. New state requirements force nursing and long term care facilities to report testing data to the state Health and Human Services Department or face fines of up to $1,000 per day. They are also threatened with licensing action if they fail to follow the stricter state rules. Maple Lawn administrators report if all new virus tests come back negative the facility should be reopening for visits and fewer restrictions on Monday the 3rd.

About one-third of all the deaths in Michigan claimed to be connected to the CIVID-19 virus have occurred in the state's nursing homes. Many attribute that to the Governor requiring the facilities to accept new or returning patients after they’ve tested positive for the virus. A congressional oversight panel in Washington is continuing the look into the situation.

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