Note: Original Press Release Noted Lockdown starting March 17th 2020 originally.

View update at WCBay.com:

As of March 16, 2020, we are no longer accepting visitors to any level of care on our campus.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Preparedness & Response

UPDATE: March 15, 2020

The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) both in the United States and abroad has many of us deeply concerned. Please know Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay is taking appropriate measures to protect the health and well-being of residents, teammates, and their families.

Our leadership team is diligently monitoring updates by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state and local health departments and following their recommended guidelines.

As a Life Plan Community which includes some nursing center residents at a high-risk for respiratory illnesses, we already have in place robust protocols to avoid flu and other illnesses.  We have an excellent track record over the years with flu prevention on our campus because we follow best practices and protocols.

For COVID-19, we have also implemented more drastic measures specific to this virus.  These measures include:

• As of March 17, 2020, we are no longer accepting visitors to any level of care on our campus.

• We are screening all team members who enter our campus.

• We are asking all residents to refrain from leaving and re-entering the campus unless medically necessary in order to reduce the risk of exposure.

• We will suspend all campus transportation except for medical appointments, and convert that department into a personal shopping/delivery service for necessary items and groceries.

• We are discouraging attendance at group gatherings, but Lifelong Learning and other events will be broadcast on our internal television station whenever possible.

• We will continue to dine in our on-campus restaurants, but we are making plans for delivery of food if we deem that to be advisable.

• In our Stone Rehab and Hoy Nursing Center, we are continuing to follow the request of the President of the United States and limiting visits to only medical/service visitors.  No visits are allowed by family members who live off of our campus. We are permitting Hospice patients to receive family members in accordance with their end of life wishes, after a visitor health screening has been completed.

• We are continuing to screen all who enter and work in our Hoy Nursing Center and staff is posted at these entryways for this purpose.

• Any visitors, vendors or team members with respiratory illness symptoms, a fever, or who have been on a cruise, or have traveled internationally within the past 14 days will not be allowed inside our campus.

• Residents traveling internationally will be in a 14-day quarantine upon their return to campus to ensure they do not have COVID-19 and to limit the risk of transmission to the rest of the community. We have asked all residents planning a trip to any location outside of the United States to consult with their medical provider to discuss travel plans, how to protect themselves, and what to do when they return.

We strongly encourage team members and residents to follow CDC recommended practices which are proven to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water; covering your cough; staying at home if you are sick; avoiding close contact with others who are sick; and carefully wiping down desks, computers, tables, door handles, etc., with disinfectant cleaners. We have posted signs on our entryway doors to notify visitors of the symptoms of COVID-19 with a request that visitors do not enter if they are experiencing these symptoms.

In closing, we want to assure you that providing a safe and healthy environment for employees and residents is a top priority at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay. We are dedicated to the well-being of our residents and team members.

Thank you for your confidence and support.

J. Benjamin Unkle, Jr.

President & CEO

Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay

March 10, 2020

Media Contact: Larry Hill: larry.hill@vdh.virginia.gov

(Virginia Beach, VA.) – The Virginia Beach Health Department announced that two residents have tested “presumptive positive” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These cases mark the first two cases in the Virginia Beach Health District, and the sixth and seventh cases in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All reported cases in Virginia have been travel related and there is no evidence of community transmission of COVID19 in Virginia.

“We are aware that exposure for these two individuals are travel related,” said Virginia Beach Health Director Dr. Demetria Lindsay. “The Public Health Department is in close communication with the two travelers and their care providers, and is conducting a thorough investigation of potential exposures. The two individuals are in stable condition and remain in isolation at this time.”

The two patients (a male in his 60’s and female in her 50’s) traveled on a Nile River cruise, which recently reported COVID-19 cases. They returned to United States on March 5. On Sunday March 8, the patients were tested at a Virginia Beach hospital. The positive test results returned today are considered presumptive, pending confirmation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can cause mild to more severe respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.  In a small proportion of patients, COVID-19 can cause complications, including death, particularly among those who are older or who have chronic medical conditions. Symptoms appear within 14 days of being exposed to an infectious person. COVID-19 spreads primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

To lower the risk of respiratory germ spread, including COVID-19, the Virginia Department of Health encourages the following effective behaviors:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Avoid contact with sick people.
• Avoid non-essential travel.

This is a rapidly changing situation, and information is being shared as it becomes available on the following websites: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus or www.vdh.virgina.gov/coronavirus/. Please consult www.vdh.virgina.gov/coronavirus for the latest number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Health has also activated a public information line, 877-ASK-VDH3, for questions from residents about the novel coronavirus situation.

Who made the reckless choice to bus 64 elderly residents of Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay to Virginia Beach Planning Commission Meeting on March 11 2020 ?