3 coronavirus cases at Kensington Redondo Beach assisted living facility - Los Angeles Times
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3 confirmed coronavirus cases at Redondo Beach assisted living facility

The Kensington Redondo Beach assisted living facility
The Kensington Redondo Beach, an assisted living community where at least three people have tested positive for coronavirus.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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One resident and two staff members at a South Bay assisted living facility, Kensington Redondo Beach, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, administrators said Wednesday.

The assisted living facility said two other residents and five staff members were awaiting results of tests for COVID-19, which were being performed “in-house” with the help of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Of the affected residents, two have been hospitalized, a spokeswoman for Kensington Redondo Beach confirmed.

The cluster of cases in the high-end assisted living home comes as elder care facilities grapple with the widening pandemic. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is considered particularly threatening to those 60 and over, and it can spread quickly in close living quarters, rendering elder care communities especially vulnerable. Senior facilities across the U.S. have restricted visitors and imposed other precautions.

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At the Kensington Redondo Beach, the current cases appear to have originated with a staff member who reported “flu-like symptoms” on March 6 and was sent home. The employee has since been hospitalized and placed on paid leave, according to a statement released by a spokesperson for the facility.

The staff member’s supervisor was also put on a self-quarantine on March 6, and that supervisor was awaiting test results, according to the statement. Administrators at the assisted living facility said all staff were being tested for fevers upon arrival each day.
Robert May, the executive director of Kensington Redondo Beach, said in the statement that the facility had received protective masks, gowns and gloves for residents and staff to use. May thanked family members of residents.

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“They have been tremendously supportive of our efforts to keep them up-to-date through our communications. They are keeping their connections with their loved ones through video chats and Facetime,” said Robert May, Executive Director.

Life Care Center of Kirkland staff members spread coronavirus to other nursing homes where they worked, an investigation led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found.

March 18, 2020

The Kensington Redondo Beach opened in 2019 at Knob Hill Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, part of a small chain of senior living communities in Sierra Madre, Redwood City as well as Maryland, New York and Virginia.

The Redondo Beach site provides assisted living for seniors and memory care to those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

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