THE WOODLANDS, Texas – A 93-year-old man living in a retirement community in The Woodlands is one of eight people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a spokesperson from The Conservatory at Alden Bridge.
Alex Cox said his grandfather was rushed to the hospital last week after staff found him lying on the floor in a common area.
“He’s very weak,” Cox said. “He can only stay awake for 30 seconds at a time.”
According to Cox, his grandfather had a very low heart rate and a chest X-ray revealed he had pneumonia. Another test, he said, led to the coronavirus diagnosis.
“That age group is more sensitive to the effects of COVID-19, so we imagined it would be immediate lockdown, immediate quarantine, public information, letting public and family know, and we’re not seeing any of it,” Cox said.
According to The Conservatory at Alden Bridge Facebook page, on Tuesday, the community implemented new guidelines encouraging social distancing.
On Friday, the page announced they would be adhering to Texas law by banning all non-essential visitors.
Cox, however, was upset there was no mention about his grandfather’s diagnosis.
“We feel that there should be more action to protect the people there, to protect the other residents there so nobody else has to go through this,” Cox said. “We know how fast this stuff can spread.”
According to a spokesperson from the senior living community, all 235 residents were informed about the positive coronavirus case via letter or phone call.
A spokesperson for the community said they were able to identify 19 individuals whom they believe came in direct contact with the 93-year-old man who tested positive more than a week ago. Those residents were self-isolated within hours of notification of the positive test result, the spokesperson said.
Despite the individuals being asymptomatic, the community’s Enhanced Containment Strategy included testing those individuals, which the community said was accomplished within 72 hours after initial identification. On Sunday, the community was notified by United Methodist Medical Center that seven of the 19 individuals tested positive for COVID-19.