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Claremont, Messiah nursing homes see COVID death toll grow

The Sentinel - 11/25/2020

Nov. 25--Additional deaths attributable to COVID-19 have been reported in Cumberland County nursing homes as the spike in cases across the Midstate continues to take its toll inside senior care facilities.

Cumberland County officials reported Tuesday night that an additional five COVID-19 deaths had occurred in the past four days among residents at Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the county-owned home.

This brings the total death toll at Claremont from the coronavirus to 10 residents, with all of the deaths occurring during this month's spike in cases across the county, state, and nation. Claremont reported its first COVID-19 death on Nov. 16.

Similarly, Messiah Lifeways in Upper Allen Township lists Tuesday evening 25 deaths among residents at the Messiah Village Nursing Care facility -- 11 of those deaths being added to the tally since Friday.

Messiah Lifeways reported on its website Monday that it expected the Pennsylvania National Guard would be done helping out the facility by Tuesday. Guardsmen arrived last week to help the facility deal with staff shortages due to COVID cases.

The additional deaths at nursing homes go hand in hand with rising case counts in the broader community.

Cumberland County's count of new COVID-19 cases began to spike two weeks ago, and the running average of new cases reported hit triple-digit daily figures beginning last week.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine has continued to stress that limiting the spread of the virus in the community outside nursing homes is critical to limiting the spread inside, given the risks posed by asymptomatic staff tracking the virus into nursing facilities.

An analysis of nursing home infection and death data, commissioned by the Associated Press and released earlier this month, found that nursing home deaths surged when COVID-19 cases rose in the surrounding community. Health experts stressed that vulnerable patients in nursing facilities can't be fully protected until states and the nation as a whole tamp down the spread of the virus more broadly.

Pennsylvania Department of Health Data through Tuesday showed 91 deaths at 25 separate nursing facilities in Cumberland County, the result of 110 known cases of COVID-19 among staff and 642 cases among residents.

Made with Flourish

Email Zack at zhoopes@cumberlink.com.

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