2 residents at Wayzata nursing home have died of COVID-19

The company that oversees a Wayzata assisted living facility that relocated its residents on Saturday says two residents have died of COVID-19.

On Saturday, the Minnesota Department of Health announced that Meridian Manor was moving dozens of residents after a majority of its staff had tested positive for the virus.

According to a statement from Transforming Age, the nonprofit that runs Meridian Manor, residents first started testing positive for COVID-19 on April 7. Since then, Meridian Manor sought to get all residents tested, and 18 of 55 residents have tested positive so far.

Wayzata assisted living facility moves dozens of residents because of COVID-19 outbreak

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis with devastating impacts,” said Torsten Hirche, the President and CEO of Transforming Age. “This virus is hitting with such voraciousness and has brought with it so much suffering and pain. We express our deepest gratitude to our team members and our partners for keeping our residents safe."

On Saturday, the MDH Emergency COVID task force told Meridian Manor to move all residents who had not been affected by COVID-19 to other facilities while infected residents are treated in hospitals.

Seven residents were taken to a nearby hospital, 13 others were relocated with family and the rest were moved to another long-term care facility nearby.