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Nurse who worked at 2 local nursing homes now under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, never experienced symptoms of virus

The nurse was not tested for the virus until the last week of April. By the time of the test, officials say the woman had already returned to work for a few weeks.

A Corpus Christi nurse is under quarantine for a second time after testing positive for COVID-19, according Nueces County Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez.

Here's what we know right now:

  • - The nurse traveled overseas in early to late March or early April
  • - Was in self-imposed 14-day quarantine when she returned to Corpus Christi
  • - Never showed symptoms of COVID-19
  • - Worked at both San Rafael Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Trinity Towers
  • - Nurse is the only person within those facilities to test positive
  • - Public Health officials monitoring health of all employees, residents and patients

Rodriguez explained to 3News the nurse voluntarily underwent a 14-day self-quarantine after returning from a trip overseas in late March or early April. During this 14-day period, the woman says she felt no symptoms of the virus and returned to work. 

She was not tested for the virus until the last week of April. By the time of the test, officials say the woman had already returned to work for a few weeks. 

Rodriguez explained the woman was asymptomatic when she took the test and continues to be in good health. The nurse is now under a second 14-day quarantine.  Through contact tracing, officials learned the nurse worked at San Rafael Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Trinity Towers. Officials were not able to specify where in Trinity Towers she worked as of this writing (9:18pm May 5). 

"We work very closely with both of these facilities. We looked at 'who did they come in contact with?' These people need to be isolated to make sure no one else comes in contact with them, minimize the number of people they come in contact with - The same thing we do for all of the other cases. Of course, this one has a heightened alert, if you will, because anytime you have a vulnerable population we're actually monitoring them very closely," Rodriguez said. 

To be clear, officials say there are no COVID-19 cases that have come out of either facility. The health department continues to monitor the situation. The nurse must have two negative COVID-19 tests back-to-back before she can be considered recovered from the virus. 

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