Doctors at Gracedale began a new testing strategy of all residents in a room shared with someone who has Covid-19 symptoms. recently implemented at the nursing home. They are all tested amnd quarantined while the resident with symptoms is isolated. As a result, the number of new Covid-19 cases dropped to just four new cases in the week ending on June 5th. This compares to 22 the previous week.)
Executive Lamont McClure previously announced that everyone at Gracedale, both residents and staff, would be tested on a routine basis, starting in July. Though CDC guidance calls for tests only on those showing symptoms, it's clearly inappropriate at a nursing home. This has been ground zero for Covid-19, yet doctors have been reluctant to order testing.
As of June 10th, 400 Gracedale residents have been tested for Covid-19. Two hundred thirty have shown positive results. Seven residents are currently in the hospital, and 120 cases have resolved. Tragically, sixty-six residents have passed away due to the virus.
Out of the 700 employees at Gracedale, forty-nine have tested positive. Forty-four have finished their quarantine periods and returned to work.
11 comments:
Yep, it's like one person from China, it will be gone by Easter. When the weather gets warmer, like a miracle, it's gone! Now there are 2 million cases in the United States alone, world leaders in fact! Let's get those rallies started up again but what will be the chants this time around? Lock her up? Build the wall?
And so what's the point of your headline, that prior cases have been falsified as positives?
No. The point is that widespread testing should have been done all along.
So then why is it a "shocker"? Generally, we would expect more testing to produce a greater case count. What am I missing?
A lot. The more testing you do, the more people you find who are asymptomatic. These are silent spreaders. You get them in isolate, find their close or proximate contacts, and ask them to quarantine themselves. Then the case rate drops.
This is what I have advocated since the beginning and have mentioned it numerous times.
Executive Lamont McClure previously announced that everyone at Gracedale, both residents and staff, would be tested on a routine basis, starting in July. Why Wait???
My wife is a staff member at Gracedale, working 50+ hours weekly since March
She has not been tested AT ALL!!! Neither has the majority of the staff!!!
It really is sad that we these numbers are posted, they don’t tell you that ALL staff and residents have not been tested
Bernie, do you know if they are doing any of the antibody tests? With so many infected, it is probably just as valuable to know which residents are still susceptible as which have active infections.
11:34, I hear you and agree. I have advocated testing all workers. Executive McClure has urged this as well. But he cannot force the providers to do this. They were going by CDC guidelines under which testing would only be done if someone showed symptoms. This is because, at least initially, test kits were at a premium. But the CDC guidelines remained even after tests became more available. To me, it is idiotic to decline testing. Nursing homes have been ground zero for Covid-19. It is logical to test everyone, especially the staff, and regularly. That way you catch people who are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic and prevent community spread. After numerous deaths and illnesses, the state DOH has finally agreed to start ordering tests. ... In July.
"Bernie, do you know if they are doing any of the antibody tests? With so many infected, it is probably just as valuable to know which residents are still susceptible as which have active infections."
I agree antibody tests are helpful identifying those who have had the virus and have natural protection. But not all antibody tests are created equal. There is considerable disagreement over just how accurate some of these are. Once we can determine which tests is truly effective, we should use it.
There is considerable disagreement over just how accurate some of these are.
Some articles I read say there's a false reading in 30% of the tests.
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