A resident of a veterans care center in Massachusetts has tested positive for the coronavirus for a second time, state health officials announced Monday.
"A veteran resident of the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea who was clinically recovered from COVID-19 as per CDC guidance again experienced COVID-related symptoms and was transferred to Cambridge Health Alliance for treatment and tested positive," according to a statement from the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees the facility.
The positive test came back Saturday. The resident was transferred to Tufts Medical Center.
The resident had previously recovered from COVID-19 in May.
The long-term care facility for veterans has since taken additional precautions to control further spread of the virus, including testing all residents who live on the same floor as the positive veteran and all staff members the resident had contact with.
According to an official statement, all staff members are required to wear full personal protective equipment in resident care areas.
No additional cases have been identified.
More than 30 residents of the state-run facility with more than 200 beds have already died the disease. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 43 residents have clinically recovered from the novel coronavirus, meaning they once tested positive, but are now considered recovered according to CDC guidelines, according to officials.
Regular testing will happen every two weeks at the home.
Seventy-six residents of another state-run veterans care facility, the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, have died of the disease.
