Ten residents at the Claremore Veterans Center have died since July 1 after testing positive for COVID-19.
However, Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Joel Kintsel says they might not have died as a direct result of contracting the respiratory disease.
Since the first of the month, 62 residents tested positive with 18 having either moderate or severe symptoms and 34 listed as asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. In addition, 21 employees at the facility are in isolation at home after testing positive.
"Based on our contact tracing, we believe the most likely source for the virus was an asymptomatic employee who did not know they had the virus and unknowingly passed it on to a resident," said Kintsel.
