Two more employees at Keene nursing home test positive for COVID-19

Olivia Belanger, The Keene Sentinel, N.H.
·1 min read

Mar. 18—Two more employees of Alpine Healthcare Center have tested positive for COVID-19, amid an outbreak of the viral disease at the Keene nursing home, state health officials reported Thursday.

The new cases bring the total to 15 residents and seven employees, according to a weekly news release from the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services.

As of Thursday afternoon, no deaths had been associated with the outbreak.

Peak Healthcare owner Avi Goldstein — whose company acquired the 298 Main St. facility in November — has said the outbreak began in the last week of February.

Goldstein has not responded to several Sentinel requests for updates on the outbreak during the past week.

A majority of Alpine Healthcare Center residents and staff have been vaccinated, he said previously.

Some of the infected residents were fully vaccinated this winter, according to Goldstein. However, he said three weeks ago that others moved into the facility after those vaccination clinics and had not yet received a vaccine. As with other vaccinations, it is possible to contract COVID-19 after being immunized, although symptoms should be milder.

Alpine Healthcare Center is following public health protocols for dealing with COVID-19 cases, Goldstein has said, including isolating infected residents and requiring that staff wear personal protective equipment.

Olivia Belanger can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or obelanger@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBelangerKS.