LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Health announced that at least four nursing homes across Arkansas have at least one positive COVID-19 case.
The department said at least four nursing homes, Apple Creek Nursing and Rehab in Centerton, The Villages of General Baptist West in Pine Bluff, Waters of White Hall and Briarwood Nursing Home and Rehab in Little Rock, are the ones affected during the coronavirus pandemic.
At least one patient has tested positive for COVID-19 at both Apple Creek and Waters of White Hall. There are two patients positive at The Villages
At Briarwood Nursing Home and Rehab, 47 people have tested positive for coronavirus. That includes 36 patients and 9 staff members.
Of the 280 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 51 of the cases are in Arkansas nursing homes.
"ADH is currently screening all other staff and residents for COVID-19 at Briarwood, and ADH staff are now onsite at Briarwood," the Arkansas Department of Health said in a press release.
According to health officials, people over the age of 65 are at a higher risk of developing serious complications due to COVID-19.
On March 13, ADH issued a directive that temporarily banned visitation to "nursing homes, residential care facilities, assisted living facilities, post-acute head injury retraining and residential care facilities, and any other facility that provides long-term medical or personal care."
Anyone that needs to enter any of those buildings is subjected to a screening before entering.
This article has been updated to include the newest data from the Arkansas Department of Health.