A Pennsylvania nursing home is treating all of its 450 patients and more than 300 staffers as infected with the CCP virus as a precaution to stem the outbreak in the facility.
The directive issued by the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County Pennsylvania is intended to protect its staff and residents and to prevent the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus virus, from spreading.
Their strategy is to segregate any possible asymptomatic carrier of the virus from other patients or staff members. On top of that, the institute will treat those with symptoms “aggressively.”
“Upon consultation with the Department of Health, and consistent with practices of facilities on the cutting edge of prevention and treatment, we are beginning to shift away from counting test results, and presuming all staff and residents may be positive,” the facility said in a press release The Pittsburg Gazette reported. “Thinking about the virus in this way allows us to be more protective of asymptomatic staff and residents.”
The resolve came on Monday after the nursing home on April 2 stopped reporting its soaring daily cases of new infections and deaths. The decision makes it the first nursing home in the state to adopt such a strict measure.
At least 42 residents and 10 employees have been infected and five patients have died, by Friday, the Gazette reported based on information provided by a representative of a trade union which represents the majority of the staff members.
Meanwhile, over half of the residents at a Massachusetts nursing home tested positive for the CCP virus despite showing no symptoms.
Pointe Group Care said on April 3 that 51 of the 98 residents at AdviniaCare in Wilmington tested positive for the virus.
“Residents who have tested positive will be isolated from those who did not, and will receive the specialized care and support provided by staff and a team from Partners [Healthcare],” the company said in a statement.
Chris Hannon, chief operating officer of the company, said the testing results came as a surprise.
“Considering how aggressive we have been, this points to how insidious this virus is; we are fighting an invisible enemy. We are ensuring that residents with the illness get the specialized care and support that they need,” he said.
The care center was slated to soon become a 142-bed virus recovery center but those plans have been put on hold after the test results came back. Residents were going to be moved to other facilities but had to test negative before being transferred.
Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this article
