The Harnett County Health Department announced 50 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases associated with a nursing home in Lillington Thursday.
The county’s total number of cases jumped dramatically to 113, with 48 people recovered and five deaths reported.
According to a press release from the county Thursday, the outbreak has been linked to Universal Health Care Lillington. Of the 50 cases, 45 are residents and five are employees.
The additional testing that led to these results was part of a comprehensive public health investigation based on a confirmed outbreak which was identified on April 21, according to the county. A COVID-19 outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory confirmed cases. There has been one COVID-19 resident death associated with the facility.
“The safety of all Harnett County residents is our priority,” said Harnett County Health Director John Rouse. “Since the outbreak, our staff and partners, including Harnett Health, Harnett County Emergency Services, and our Environmental Health Division have been communicating with facility leadership and making recommendations to care for those affected and to reduce the risks for other residents and staff at the facility.”