Deadly Outbreak At Florida Assisted Living Facility Displays How Vulnerable Homes For Seniors Are As Hot Spots
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said allowing construction workers, staff and cooks to mingle with the residents of Atria Willow Wood ''is exactly what you're not supposed to do.'' In Florida, nearly 20 facilities suspect or confirm cases. One quarter of all COVID-19 deaths have occurred at elder care facilities. Beyond Seattle facilities where the virus was first reported, the pandemic has emerged in 22 states operating senior facilities including Louisiana, Ohio, and Virginia.
ProPublica and Miami Herald:
Fatal Coronavirus Outbreak At Assisted Living Center Is Grim Reminder That Both Residents And Staff Are At Risk
Richard Curren and his wife, Sheila, were living out their retirement at Atria Willow Wood, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, assisted living facility near their daughter and two grandchildren, when he started feeling weak and had trouble breathing. The former travel agent had suffered from respiratory problems in the past, and, at first, family members weren’t overly concerned. “He was just sick, and you don’t immediately run to the ER,” said their daughter, Tracy Curren Wieder. (Miller and Lefever, 3/22)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Cases Surge At Nursing Homes As Workers Battle ‘Almost Perfect Killing Machine’
As senior care centers across the country scrambled this week to bolster their defenses against the coronavirus, dozens discovered it already was inside. Across the United States, the numbers of reported cases of coronavirus at nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other elder care centers have spiked, with at least 73 facilities in 22 states reporting infections, according to a review by The Washington Post of reports from states, local media and nursing homes. (Whoriskey, Sacchetti and Webster, 3/21)
