WOODWARD, Iowa — Five more residents at a state-run resource facility are infected with COVID-19, according to the Iowa Department of Human Resources.
A release from DHS said the first resident to test positive at Woodward Resource Center was officially confirmed Friday. They were the first resident in all of DHS's facilities to test positive for the coronavirus.
As a precaution, all residents at the resource center were tested, even though they were asymptomatic. Five of those tests came back positive.
DHS moved those residents to different house on the Woodward campus. As their condition improves, they'll be shifted to a different house before going back to their primary residence, according to DHS.
DHS also said eight employees that work at five different facilities also tested positive as of Sunday, including three employees from Woodward.
Due to DHS policy related to potential exposure and staying home when sick, many of these employees hadn't been onsite for multiple days before testing positive.
DHS said this significantly limits the risk of exposure to other employees and residents.
The other staff members infected are from:
- Cherokee Mental Health Institute (1)
- Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (1)
- Independence Mental Health Institute (1)
- Eldora Boys State Training School (2)
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