One resident and two staff members at a South Bay assisted living facility, Kensington Redondo Beach, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, administrators said Wednesday.
The assisted living facility said two other residents and five staff members were awaiting results of tests for COVID-19, which were being performed “in-house” with the help of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Of the affected residents, two have been hospitalized, a spokeswoman for Kensington Redondo Beach confirmed.
The cluster of cases in the high-end assisted living home comes as elder care facilities grapple with the widening pandemic. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is considered particularly threatening to those 60 and over, and it can spread quickly in close living quarters, rendering elder care communities especially vulnerable. Senior facilities across the U.S. have restricted visitors and imposed other precautions.
1/44
The City of Santa Monica closed the Santa Monica Pier in an attempt to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus. Very few people were on the beach in Santa Monica as the epidemic continues. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
2/44
Volunteer Nagma Shakur, 16, left, hugs her “Grannie” as she helps senior shoppers with their carts at the Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Altadena. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
3/44
People walk up the ramp, exiting the secure area at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
4/44
David Barker, 56, is visiting with his friend living in a tent on skidrow in Los Angeles. Barker, who is not homeless, works in the area. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
5/44
Dr. Dallas Weaver, 79, and his wife, Janet Weaver, 75, of Huntington Beach, walk on the Huntington pier. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
6/44
Seniors, including Eileen Oda Leaf, 67, left, and her husband Dave Leaf, 67, right, both wearing protective masks, line up outside Gelson’s Market in Manhattan Beach early on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
7/44
Roberta Tabor, 66, of Hermosa Beach, has her ID checked by store director Dennis Sullivan at Gelson’s Market in Manhattan Beach on Wednesday. The store is doing a “seniors shopping hour” where seniors 65+ can go grocery shopping before anybody else. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
8/44
Seniors shop at Gelson’s Market in Manhattan Beach on Wednesday. The store is doing a “seniors shopping hour” where seniors can go grocery shopping before the store opens to the general public. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
9/44
Dr. Mark V. Morocco oversees testing at UCLA Medical Center where people can drive up and get tested if they have the symptoms. Morocco listens to a female patient’s lungs through the car window. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
10/44
HOPICS outreach worker Ralph Gomez tosses a clipboard for a signature to homeless client Davis Soto, right, taking care to stay at least six feet away during outreach in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
11/44
Medical personnel screen patients outside the emergency room at Loma Linda University Health during the coronavirus pandemic. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
12/44
A nurse takes the vital signs of a woman in a medical tent outside the hospital on Catalina. (Francine Orr/Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
13/44
An employee of the Trader Joe’s store in Monrovia tells customers waiting in line that it would open doors to everyone at 9 a.m., not just seniors, who arrived believing doors would open earlier to older residents, as some of the people were told by employees and it was reported. Some grocery outlets were offering special morning hours of shopping to accommodate older residents. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)
14/44
Kevin Ezeh, protected with face mask and gloves, addresses the Los Angeles City Council meeting standing under a tent erected outside City Hall. A television livestreamed video of the meeting and the public offered comments remotely. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
15/44
Orange County Undersheriff Bob Peterson listens during a board of supervisors discussion on combating the coronavirus in Santa Ana. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
16/44
Dr. Mark V. Morocco oversees the testing at UCLA Medical Center. Testing for Covid-19 is going on at UCLA Medical Center, where people can drive up and get tested if they have the symptoms. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
17/44
A large tent is installed for public attendance at Tuesday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting. The public was not allowed in the council chamber. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
18/44
Shoppers queue up ahead of the Los Feliz Costco opening for business on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 in Los Angeles. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
19/44
Muhammad Faruq, an Uber driver, picks his ride Sotero Reyes, left, and Cristian Eguia, visitors from Houston, all in protective masks, from downtown Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
20/44
Volunteer Rachel Figueroa, serves a free lunch to go to Destiny Mendez, with her mother, Estefany, at the Dream Center in Los Angeles. LAUSD students can get free breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Dream Center, Monday through Friday. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
21/44
Emma Bradley, left, and her husband, Samuel Bradley, of Palmdale are walking up the ramp to catch the Metrolink in Union Sation in Los Angeles. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
22/44
Medical personnel surround a car that is going through a coronavirus drive-thru test clinic at the San Mateo County Event Center. Drive-thru test clinics for COVID-19 are popping up across the country as more tests become available. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
23/44
From left, Josh Akamine, of Oahu, Hawaii; Madison Shine of Oahu; Matthew Valencia of Los Altos and Dani Ikeda visit L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
24/44
Normally bustling Grand Central Market in downtown L.A. is open only for take out. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
25/44
L.A. has banned restaurants from offering seating at places such as Grand Central Market. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
26/44
Carlos Perez, a worker at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles sits in the empty restaurant. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
27/44
A line at the Martin B. Retting gun store in Culver City on Sunday extends out the door and around the corner. (Francine Orr / The Times)
28/44
A guest wears a mask in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland on Thursday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
29/44
Students hug as they are let out of school at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 13, 2020. The school has 2,623 students who live in 94 different zip codes, some of whom travel upwards of 30 miles to school on 24 different school bus routes. 221 school staff live in 88 zip codes. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner announced that schools will be closed due to the coronavirus. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
30/44
Blake Anderson, left, a freshman, walks with his father Oree Anderson, as school is let out at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. LAUSD announced that schools will be closed due to the Coronavirus. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
31/44
Students leave John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles at the end of the school day on Friday, Mar. 13, 2020. LAUSD announced it will shut down beginning Monday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times )
32/44
Alexandria Casserly crosses the street while looking for toilet paper in downtown Los Angeles. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
33/44
A crew member stands on the stern of a cruise ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
34/44
Two children look at movie posters in the lobby of the Arclight theater Thursday in Manhattan Beach. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
35/44
Disneyland guests wearing ponchos pass the Marketplace inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on Thursday. Disneyland and California Adventure will temporarily close in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
36/44
People shop at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
37/44
Disneyland guests take photos in front of the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
38/44
Airline workers take precautions at Tom Bradley International Terminal in Los Angeles on Thursday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
39/44
An airport worker cleans a railing at Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
40/44
Two people arrive at Knott’s Berry Farm on Thursday in Buena Park. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
41/44
Cab drivers wait for riders at the Long Beach Airport. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
42/44
The Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
43/44
A woman claims her luggage at he Long Beach Airport. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
44/44
The Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
At the Kensington Redondo Beach, the current cases appear to have originated with a staff member who reported “flu-like symptoms” on March 6 and was sent home. The employee has since been hospitalized and placed on paid leave, according to a statement released by a spokesperson for the facility.
The staff member’s supervisor was also put on a self-quarantine on March 6, and that supervisor was awaiting test results, according to the statement. Administrators at the assisted living facility said all staff were being tested for fevers upon arrival each day.
Robert May, the executive director of Kensington Redondo Beach, said in the statement that the facility had received protective masks, gowns and gloves for residents and staff to use. May thanked family members of residents.
“They have been tremendously supportive of our efforts to keep them up-to-date through our communications. They are keeping their connections with their loved ones through video chats and Facetime,” said Robert May, Executive Director.
The Kensington Redondo Beach opened in 2019 at Knob Hill Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, part of a small chain of senior living communities in Sierra Madre, Redwood City as well as Maryland, New York and Virginia.
The Redondo Beach site provides assisted living for seniors and memory care to those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
