UPDATE: No COVID-19 cases among Jenkins Living Center residents or employees (Audio)

May 29, 2020
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.—Jenkins Living Center in Watertown has been given a clean bill of health from COVID-19.

All residents and employees of the nursing home were tested last week.

CEO Loren Diekman says three residents initially tested positive for the virus, even though they showed no symptoms.

They were re-tested twice, and each of those tests came back negative, as did the tests on all 252 employees.

Diekman says they were confident going in that they’d pass the testing with flying colors…

Despite the absence of any COVID-19 at Jenkins, visitor restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future…

Last week, Governor Noem commended Jenkins for becoming the first nursing home in the state to complete mass testing for the virus.