NAPA, Calif. (BCN/KRON) – Two dozen residents and staff members at an assisted senior living facility in Napa have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days even as the facility has begun vaccinations.

Brookdale Senior Living Napa has confirmed at least 19 active cases of the virus among residents and five among staff as of Sunday, according to data from Napa County and the California Department of Social Services, which oversees residential care facilities for older adults.

Brookdale spokesperson sent KRON4 a statement that reads in part:

“We can confirm more than one member of our Brookdale Napa community has tested positive for COVID-19. We have informed residents, their family members, and associates of Brookdale Napa of this matter. We are diligently monitoring our residents and associates for signs and symptoms, and we continue to work directly with local health officials to help ensure our residents and associates have the appropriate and necessary medical support.”

The confirmed cases come less than a month after some residents and staff at the facility received their first of two coronavirus vaccine doses through a federal pharmacy partnership with CVS Health.

CVS Health sent KRON4 this statement:

“No one from our clinical team who administered vaccines at this facility has tested positive for COVID-19. We continue to partner with each facility to address their needs to vaccinate residents and staff.”

“Over the course of the pandemic Napa County has had 55 known or suspected outbreaks in a number of facilities,” Janet Upton, Public Information Officer in Napa County, said. 

Napa County spokesperson Janet Upton describes the county’s protocol for handling COVID outbreaks.

“So that process includes working very closely with the facility. We have requirements that we work with them on. That includes 100% testing of residents and staff every day until there’s two consecutive rounds with negative test results. At that point, we close the outbreak. We have 42 outbreaks out of 55 that have been closed in Napa,” Upton said. 

Brookdale’s representative says they have detailed protocols and plans in place to respond to this situation, prioritizing the health and wellness of their residents. 

Brookdale’s outbreak is the largest among assisted living facilities, however, and county public health officials have not projected it to end until Feb. 24.

County officials and Brookdale declined to speculate on the origin of the outbreak, but a spokesperson for CVS Health confirmed that none of its vaccine administrators have tested positive after holding a vaccine clinic at the facility last month.

Brookdale said it has and continues to follow health and safety guidance from local and state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control.

As of Tuesday, 8,689 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Napa County, including 59 deaths.