Seven COVID-19 infections among residents and staff members have been discovered since Saturday at Fort Dodge Villa Care Center, Administrator Lisa Eastman reported Thursday.

Discovery of the outbreak was initiated when one resident, transported to the emergency room for symptoms unrelated to COVID-19, tested positive over the weekend. A second resident tested positive on Tuesday with common symptoms that overlap with COVID-19 symptoms, originally attributed to an underlying medical condition.

In addition to the residents, five staff members of about 70 at the nursing home also tested positive. The care center’s administrator reported that only one showed symptoms.

Fort Dodge Villa Care Center is the third Fort Dodge nursing home to acknowledge COVID-19 infections, though it will not be reported by the state as an “outbreak” unless it reaches three positive residents. The only nursing home in Webster County to have a classified outbreak by the Iowa Department of Public Health was the Marian Home. Friendship Haven was the first to report positive cases, but had fewer than three positive residents.

The source of the outbreak has not yet been determined.

Fort Dodge Villa should receive test results for nearly all of its residents by the end of the week. Eastman said new guidelines will soon set routine testing expectations at the home. Some nursing homes in Webster County have opted for regular surveillance testing, in addition to many other employee screening measures, to curb the risk of outbreaks. Until now, Eastman said that the Villa has screened residents every day for symptoms.

The Villa is home to 100 residents now, since it took in 34 displaced residents from Crestview Acres in Marion after a derecho storm ripped through eastern Iowa, leaving the Marion nursing home with substantial damage.

“We knew that we could not avoid (COVID-19 infections) forever,” Eastman said. “This is our lucky time to step up and be heroes and take care of people. We are fortunate that it is contained as well as it has been so far.”

The infections halted the Villa’s plans to introduce outdoor visits and closed window visits, though the home said it is working to purchase more tablets for virtual visits to help keep residents in touch with family.

As of Thursday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 36 long-term care facilities in the state with outbreaks, totaling 1,129 positive cases. Over half of those cases were fatal, with 584 deaths.