MINNEOTA — An area nursing home is following state and CDC health guidance after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, administrators said this week.

On June 16, Minneota Manor Health Care Center was added to the Minnesota Department of Health’s list of congregate care facilities with COVID-19 exposures. Kathy Johnson, administrator of Minneota Manor, said the facility had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. The staff member self-quarantined, and Minneota Manor went through an assessment process to determine the level of exposure in the facility. Minneota Manor is following MDH and CDC guidelines for COVID-19 response and prevention, Johnson said.

“Residents’ safety is always our top priority,” she said.

The Minnesota Department of Health reports the names of congregate care facilities that have had one or more exposures to COVID-19. According to the MDH, an exposure means a person with COVID-19 either visited, worked or lived at a care facility while they were contagious. However, while the names of those facilities are publicly available, the MDH says the list is cumulative. That means care facilities can be on the list even if they don’t have ongoing spread of coronavirus.

The MDH also doesn’t list the names of facilities that have fewer than 10 residents.

When a positive case of COVID-19 is confirmed, the MDH does contact tracing to help determine who a patient has been in contact with, and the level of risk that those contacts may have been exposed to the virus. Johnson said Minneota Manor has been working with the MDH in order to take the right steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Visits are currently restricted at Minneota Manor, and staff take measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, like wearing personal protective equipment, Johnson said. Staff also undergo temperature screenings before entering the facility, she said. Staff members are asked to stay home if they are sick.

Minneota Manor was the first congregate care facility in Lyon County to have a COVID-19 exposure listed by the MDH. However, other area counties have also reported exposures in care facilities. Valley View Manor in Redwood County and Maple Lawn Senior Care in Murray County both had COVID-19 exposures reported by the MDH. There have also been exposures reported at care facilities in Nobles, Cottonwood, Jackson, Renville, Chippewa and Kandiyohi counties.