A northern California nursing home, Gilroy Healthcare, and Rehabilitation Center has announced the death of 12 residents from COVID-19. The nursing home also said that 75 other residents and 54 employees have become infected with the coronavirus. However, 63 residents and 53 staff who contracted the disease have recovered after some forms of treatment.
The nursing home did not specify when the patients died from the pandemic or when others tested positive for the disease, but they assured that they are working with public health officials to implement additional levels of protection for all residents and employees. They also announced that everyone at the facility must be tested for coronavirus once a week apart from observing health safety protocols.
“We understand the importance of knowing the status of our residents, employees, and essential health care providers,” the nursing home wrote. “In this new world of COVID-19, rest assured we are aggressively treating and responding to potential community exposures by conducting routine testing of all our residents and staff until such time as a vaccine becomes available or the CDC instructs otherwise.”
Many nursing homes across the United States have been hard hit with COVID-19 since the pandemic occurred in the country early this year. The Highland Health and Rehabilitation nursing center in Whatcom County of Washington State revealed that 137 residents contracted coronavirus since September and 10 of these people have died. They added that 17 employees got infected with the disease too.
The Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center as well as the Sacred Heart Care Center in Minnesota called in the National Guard when they began to experience massive coronavirus outbreak at the facilities. The Virginia Department of Health also revealed that 80 residents got infected with COVID-19 and four others died at a retirement facility in Chesterfield County. Also in Connecticut, 22 people at a nursing home and an assisted living center got the disease.
In June, July, and August, state health officials cited Gilroy Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center three times for ignoring to report coronavirus data at their facility and even fined them $1,000 as a deterrent since their failure could endanger residents’ health and safety, and also cause incomplete COVID-19 data being compiled in the state.
Source: sfchronicle.com