MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly two dozen people from two Manatee County nursing facilities run by the same company have died from COVID-19.

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Both Braden River Rehabilitation Center and the Riviera Palms Rehabilitation Center have become hot spots for the virus in recent weeks. According to a spokesperson, between the two facilities, 141 residents and employees have tested positive for coronavirus and 23 have died.

At Braden River Rehab Center, 74 residents and staff members tested positive for coronavirus and 11 had died.

At Riviera Palms, 67 residents and staff members tested positive for coronavirus and 12 had died.

As of Thursday afternoon, 36 Manatee County residents had died from COVID-19.



According to Dr. Jennifer Bencie with the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, the two nursing facilities began testing all of their residents and employees after noting an uptick in cases roughly three weeks ago.

“We’re very glad that they did that, to get a handle on who was positive and what was happening in those facilities,” she said.

Bencie explained to Manatee County commissioners on Tuesday that some of the employees had been traveling back and forth to each facility over the past month.

"Not only were those staff members working in both facilities, but also going out into other facilities where we’ve since learned other people have been testing positive,” Bencie said.

We've reached out to the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County for comment. We will update this story when we learn more.