by At least five residents at a Massachusetts nursing home are dead and dozens more are recovering after a COVID-19 outbreak hit the Cape Cod facility almost two weeks ago. The Massachusetts Department of Health said on Friday there had been 74 COVID-19 cases among residents and 19 cases among staff amid the outbreak at the Windsor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in South Yarmouth. A spokesman for Integritus Healthcare, which manages the facility, told NewsCenter 5 that they had 73 positive cases among 89 residents, along with 19 staff cases related to the outbreak, which began on February 21. The Integritus spokesman said 28 residents and eight staff have recovered from their illnesses and management expects those numbers to rise in the coming week The government-backed Rapid Response Team has been in Windsor since February 28 providing clinical support and hand hygiene and personal protective equipment checks. The RTT consists of 10 to 12 people, a roughly even mix of licensed registered nurses and certified nursing assistants. In addition, on February 28, the DPH issued a ban on admissions to the South Yarmouth facility, in accordance with Department rules. The spokesman for Integritus said the company has deployed its own infection control teams to Windsor in response to the COVID-19 outbreak,” Integritus Healthcare said in a statement. Health experts said COVID-19 cases remain low across the country and they point to wastewater levels as a sign they have been steadily falling over the past six months.
At least five residents at a Massachusetts nursing home are dead and dozens more are recovering after a COVID-19 outbreak hit the Cape Cod facility nearly two weeks ago.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Friday there had been 74 COVID-19 cases among residents and 19 cases among staff members as part of the outbreak at the Windsor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in South Yarmouth.
A spokesman for Integritus Healthcare, which manages the facility, told NewsCenter 5 that there have been 73 positive cases among 89 residents, along with 19 staff cases related to the outbreak, which began on February 21.
The Integritus spokesman said 28 residents and eight staff have recovered from their illnesses and that management expects those numbers to increase in the coming week.
The DPH said a government-backed Rapid Response Team has been in Windsor since February 28, providing clinical support and hand hygiene and personal protective equipment checks. The RTT consists of 10 to 12 people, an approximately equal mix of registered nurses and qualified nursing assistants.
In addition, on February 28, the DPH issued a ban on admission to the South Yarmouth facility, in accordance with departmental regulations.
The Integritus spokesman said the company had deployed its own infection control teams to Windsor in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are in communication with the Department of Health and their rapid response team is working with us; and we are doing whatever we should be doing in response to the outbreak,” Integritus Healthcare said in a statement.
Public health experts said COVID-19 cases remain low across the country and they cite wastewater levels as a sign they have been falling steadily over the past six months.
