Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation has announced that effective 1 p.m. March 12 visitation of all non-medical guests and volunteers to the South Whitehall and Fountain Hill locations has been suspended.

According to information provided by Lehigh County, visitor restrictions include Brookview apartments tenants visiting the nursing home. Visitor restriction measures are taken as a precaution to protect residents and staff from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

There are currently no confirmed cases and no suspected cases of COVID-19 within the facilities.

Under guidance from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Cedarbrook, South Whitehall, previously implemented a limited visitation and screening policy. This included entry through the D-Wing only at the South Whitehall campus and front entrance only at the Fountain Hill campus to enforce screening for symptoms, sanitation, and flow of guests.

Due to the increasing number of cases in surrounding counties, however, further precautions are now being taken to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus to the facilities.

As of last night, on March 11, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 virus a worldwide pandemic.

In accordance to this declaration, President Donald Trump addressed the nation and strongly advised against all nonessential visitation to nursing homes and other facilities.

With this update, and further guidance from CMS, County Executive Phillips Armstrong and Cedarbrook Administrator Director Cumello decided to suspend all visitors and volunteers until further notice.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid is the governing body for skilled nursing homes in the United States.

Lehigh County and Cedarbrook are committed to the safety of its residents and staff and are closely monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We are working in collaboration and guidance of CMS, the CDC, World Health Organization, and Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The information from the county states this is an active and evolving situation with more updates to follow.