RIGA, Dec 16 (LETA) - As Covid-19 continues to spread among clients and staff at a care home in Latvia's southeastern city Daugavpils, nearly half the institution's clients have already tested positive for the coronavirus, LETA learned.

In all, 92 Covid-19 cases had been reported at the care home by Tuesday, with 57 clients and 35 employees diagnosed with the virus. But as test results continued to come in, the number of Covid-19 cases detected in the Daugavpils care home grew to 133 on Wednesday, which is roughly half of all clients, Helena Soldatjonoka (Latgale Party), head of the Daugavpils City Council's social affairs committee, told LETA. 

No new Covid-19 cases have been found among the care home's staff, but Soldatjonoka said that some test results are still being awaited. 

The infected and healthy residents of the care home have been separated in various buildings of the care home and are not meeting each other. The employees have been split into two groups as well, with one group working with the infected and the other with the uninfected clients.

Soldatjonoka said that for the next three weeks the care home will be outsourcing catering services because many of the infected employees worked in the care home's canteen. 

Daugavpils vice mayor Livija Jankovska (Our Party) told LETA that the situation at the care home is currently under control.

As reported, a Covid-19 case that was detected at the old people's care home in Daugavpils earlier this week led to the discovery of at least 70 others. The care home's director Valentins Plonis tendered resignation. 

Soldatjonoka said that the testing of clients and employees at the care home was started after a client was diagnosed with Covid-19 and later died. The client had to take the test before receiving chemotherapy for his cancer. The positive result of the Covid-19 test came back in three days, during which the client had interacted both with employees and other clients of the care home.

The representative of the city council believes that the virus was probably brought into the care home by an employee.

The comprehensive testing of employees and clients of the care home has been completed and around 70 tests had come back positive by Monday. More than 50 of those who tested positive for the coronavirus are clients of the care home and the rest are employees. There are approximately 270 clients, more than half of them bedridden, as well as more than 200 employees in the care home.

Daugavpils mayor Igors Prelatovs (Our Party) has ordered an inhouse investigation into the Covid-19 outbreak at the care home.