NEW YORK (AP) — On Friday, a New York City nursing home reported the deaths of 98 inhabitants believed to have been affected by the coronavirus — an extraordinary number of deaths shocking civil servants.
“It’s really scary,” said Mayor Bill de Brascio. “It’s an immeasurable loss, and it’s impossible to imagine so many lost in one place.”
We do not know if the number of deaths at the Isabella Geriatrics Center in Manhattan is still the worst old-school outbreak in the United States. This is because facilities in the city also choose to report deaths in different ways. As of Friday, the official tabulation of deaths in nursing homes only allowed 13 at home.
But officials at the 705-bed center confirmed that by Wednesday, 46 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 had died and 52 had been “suspected” by the virus. Some died in nursing homes and some died after being treated in a hospital.
The number of corpses became so large that the funeral hall spent several days picking up the deceased, so the house ordered fridge trucks to store them.
“Isabella, like all other nursing homes in New York, initially had limited access to extensive and consistent in-house tests, which allowed us to quickly diagnose residents and staff.” Home spokeswoman Audrey Waters wrote in an email. “This has hindered our ability to identify infected and asymptomatic individuals, despite our efforts to quickly isolate those who have symptoms.”
Isabella also faced a staffing shortage, encouraged hiring from external agencies, and took the early challenge of securing personal protective equipment for employees. Waters said the house was “more accessible to tests” at last.
The death toll in a nursing home was first reported by the local cable news station NY1.
Nursing homes have been known as trouble spots since the outset. According to Associated Press statistics, they were particularly hard hit in New York, where the United States had the most, and especially 3,043 nursing homes, died as of Wednesday.
The State Department of Health said it received “outbreak reports” from 239 nursing homes, including at least 6 facilities that killed more than 40 patients.
“One of the things we know about nursing homes right now is that the current situation cannot be continued, to say the least,” de Blasio said. “Something very different needs to happen.”
“We are trying to provide as much support as we can,” the city official said, adding that the city provided thousands of masks to the Washington Heights facility.
Nursing homes said they couldn’t guess why the state survey had previously listed only 13 COVID-19s at the facility. It sent a long statement to the AP on Friday, claiming to have reported it “truly and accurately” to state authorities.
Nursing homes also said it remained in a loop about changes in the condition of loved ones in the family despite the circumstances.
“When we believe that their loved ones are nearing death, we contact the resident’s primary contacts and ask if they would like to say goodbye, either directly or via the phone or app. “Waters said. “The face-to-face farewell visit was never interrupted and continued to occur.”
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Associated Press correspondent Marina Villeneuve and researcher Randy Harshaft contributed to the report.
