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Luverne Health and Rehabilitation confirmed a decrease in confirmed coronavirus cases after having numerous employees and residents test positive at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Since the middle of March, we had a total of 91 residents test positive for COVID,” a spokesperson for NHS Management said. “Today, our COVID unit has 44.”

The COVID unit is a sectioned portion of the nursing home where residents who test positive for the virus must remain.

“We created the unit using biohazard walls and negative pressure air scrubbers,” The spokesperson said. “The staff who work in the COVID unit do not work in the rest of the facility. Everyone who tests positive, whether they’re asymptomatic or not, must go into the COVID unit.”

  Only 7 of the 44 residents who have tested positive have shown symptoms.

“So far, 29 have recovered, and we have five in the hospital,” The spokesperson said.

Among the employees, 57 employees have tested positive since the beginning of March.

“Right now, we have 11 that are still out,” The spokesperson said. “The other 46 have recovered and returned to work. Of those 11 who are still out, only three have symptoms.”

At the start of the pandemic, the facility began comprehensive testing if any symptoms of the virus were noticed.

“In our testing, we’re experiencing less than half of the people who test positive have any symptoms,” The spokesperson concluded. “If we weren’t testing everybody frequently, the positive tests in the nursing home would be much higher.”