AVON LAKE, Ohio (WJW)– Main Street Care Center in Avon Lake said it has 17 active cases of COVID-19 at the facility.

The nursing home said it is using personal protective equipment, isolating positive cases in a quarantine unit and cleaning common areas. A specific team at the facility will only be caring for the coronavirus patients. Management is also working with the Lorain County Public Health Department.

“Main Street Care Center has been preparing for this type of scenario for countless hours since the initial onset of the COVID-19 threat,” the facility said in a news release on Thursday.

Mayor Greg Zilka said the cases started to emerge earlier in the week.  The mayor addressed the situation in a pre-recorded statement

“They have notified all resident responsible parties, meaning families, and continue to update them daily,” he said in the statement.

The nursing facility is located inside a sprawling complex called the Towne Center Community Campus, which is operated by Sprenger Health Care Systems.

Main Street Care Center stopped permitting visitors on March 11. First responders and delivery people have their temperatures checked before entering the building.

According to the mayor, the 17 nursing home patients brings the total number of  coronavirus cases in Avon Lake to 39. That includes two people who died: an 82-year-old woman and a 93-year-old man. Zilka said he does not believe they were residents of the nursing home.