UPDATE: San Luis Obispo County Public Health officials tell KSBY News that they do not believe they are dealing with a potentially mutated strain of COVID-19 at the Arroyo Grande Care Center.
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ORIGINAL STORY: An Arroyo Grande skilled nursing facility is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.
Compass Health, which operates Arroyo Grande Care Center, says weekly testing began at the facility after a resident tested positive for the virus last month.
Since then, Compass Health says positive test results have come back for many residents and they are expecting the number to increase.
CEO Darren Smith says no one has elevated temperatures and only a few have an occasional cough.
“San Luis Obispo Public Health believes we are potentially dealing with a mutated strain of COVID-19 that is more contagious than the initial wave, this new strain appears to be less severe,” Smith said in an email to KSBY News. “There may also be a connection between recent flu shots and limiting severity, in any case we are experiencing a lack of symptoms along with health stability. “
To date, three residents have been hospitalized “for non-emergent COVID treatment” since the outbreak began.
Smith says the care center is following a mitigation plan approved by the California Department of Public Health, adding staff are in contact with residents’ families.