A resident at Ponca City Nursing and Rehabilitation has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Kathy Casper, administrator of Ponca City Nursing and Rehab, said this resident has been on quarantine, after returning from the hospital, and was tested prior to being released from quarantine.

“The resident remains quarantined in isolation from the other residents in the facility,” said Casper. “We are currently working with the local and state health department to provide testing of employees and residents to ensure they are protected from further spread of this virus.”

Kimberlyn Bivins, spokesperson for AllianceHealth Ponca City, said the patient was not released from Ponca City’s hospital and was a patient elsewhere.

“We take the threat of this virus extremely serious and we are doing everything in our power to keep this virus out of our facility and half its spread,” said Casper. “These measures include, and are not limited to, restricting non-medically necessary visitation to the facility, ending communal dining and group activities in the facility, screening our staff for fevers and symptoms of COVID-19 per CDC guidelines and screening all of our residents twice a day for signs and symptoms of the virus.”

Casper said all nonresident questions and requests for information should be emailed to PoncaCityCovid19@PoncaNursing.com. “We will respond as soon as possible to your questions and concerns.”

As of Tuesday, there are 5,489 confirmed positive cases in Oklahoma with 292 total deaths.

There have been 50 confirmed cases in Kay County with seven deaths and 40 recoveries. Ponca City has 48 of those confirmed cases with five of the seven deaths and 39 recoveries.