For the first time in more than a month, a new case of COVID-19 has been discovered at Essex Center.

The Elizabethtown nursing home and rehabilitation facility was declared “COVID-free” by Centers Health Care, a Bronx-based organization that operates the home, on Oct. 8. The Essex County Health Department hasn’t seen a new positive at Essex Center since last month, according to Andrea Whitmarsh, senior health educator for the department.

The resident of the nursing home who tested positive Friday marks the 61st resident case at Essex Center. Sixteen people tied to the facility have died after contracting COVID-19: 15 who lived in Essex County and one person in Clinton County.

The new case was discovered through routine testing, according to Whitmarsh. The county Health Department is in the early stages of its investigation, she said. The department is working with Essex Center and the state Department of Health.

Altogether, since the first confirmed case there on Aug. 17, the coronavirus has spread to 111 people connected to the facility, including 61 residents, 38 staff members and 12 close contacts of staff.

There were four active cases of COVID-19 countywide on Friday, three new cases since Thursday but down from last Friday, when there were 10 active cases, according to the county Health Department. The current cases are located in the towns of Elizabethtown, Westport, Moriah and Crown Point. One COVID-positive person is hospitalized.

Essex County has seen 240 cases of COVID-19 since March.

In neighboring Franklin County, there were four active cases of COVID-19 countywide on Friday, no change from Thursday, according to county Manager Donna Kissane. The county has seen 71 test-confirmed and 104 suspected cases of COVID-19 since March.