Five dead and 74 infected after COVID-19 outbreak in Washington nursing home
A nursing center is trying to battle a COVID-19 outbreak that started in August, when the first new case was confirmed.
The Pinewood Terrace Nursing Center in Colville, Washington has seen 22 staff and 52 residents test positive for the coronavirus and five deaths. The first case was reported on Aug. 25, according to the Northeast Tri-County Health District.
Out of the 74 total infected, 33 were fully vaccinated and of the five residents who died, one was fully vaccinated.
“This speaks to the seriousness and danger the delta variant poses for all individuals,” a spokesperson for the county said in a statement. “It also shows the ability of the vaccine to protect against severe illness in those who have been vaccinated.”
Over half, 64.5%, of the residents at the nursing center are vaccinated, but only 37.1% of staff members are also vaccinated as of Sept. 5, according to Medicare.gov.
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Tri-County Health, which covers Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens County, currently has 5,965 positive COVID-19 cases. Pinewood Terrace is located in Stevens County which has the highest number of positive cases out of the three counties and has experienced 35 COVID related deaths since Sept. 1, the health district said.
“We are seeing firsthand that your age, gender, health status and demographics do not shield you from the severity of this virus,” they said in a statement.
Around 2,500 miles away, another nursing home is battling the same fight.
The Care Center of Honolulu in Nuuanu, Hawaii currently has 54 patients and two dozen employees infected, leaving nurses strained to take care of all 182 licensed beds at the center, the Star Advertiser reports.
The Care Center of Honolulu told the Star Advertiser that 91% of its staff and, on average, more than 80% of its patients are vaccinated against COVID-19 and that six people were hospitalized, two of whom have been released from isolation.
During the beginning of the pandemic, nursing homes were ravaged by COVID-19. A nursing home in Washington was the first major outbreak in the country. Now, a recent study show that there were 592,629 cases and 118,335 deaths in nursing homes by the end of 2020 alone.
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