An outbreak of coronavirus cases at a Kentucky nursing home forced the evacuation of dozens of residents to hospitals, state officials said Tuesday.
Thirty-nine residents and 20 staff members at Nazareth Clifton in Louisville tested positive for the virus last week, said state Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander.
“So as time went on, it became apparent that the facility was going to have a very tough time providing enough staff to the residents that they had in that facility,” he said. “So we began an aggressive plan to transfer those residents out to local hospitals.”
As a result, officials were able to “stabilize” the facility, Friedlander said.
The outbreak was detected as part of the state’s comprehensive effort to test residents and staff at long-term care facilities across Kentucky. More than 11,000 staff and residents have been tested so far, the secretary said. He warned that other outbreaks could occur amid the pandemic.
“We’re going to see this, probably, again in Kentucky,” he said. “And we will have plans in place, and we will respond aggressively.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Andy Beshear reported three additional virus-related deaths in Kentucky in the past three days, raising the state’s death count to at least 394 since the pandemic began.
The governor also reported 387 more coronavirus cases in Kentucky in the three-day span, increasing the statewide total to more than 8,950 cases.
“We are on the decline, but that’s fragile and with a disease that can so easily spread we have to want and put into action our desire to continue to see that downward movement,” Beshear said during his daily coronavirus briefing.
More than 3,110 people in Kentucky have recovered from the virus, he said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up within weeks. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, even death.
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