Coronavirus: 96 Nursing Home Residents, 67 Staffers Get Virus

AUSTIN, TX— The regional health authority on Wednesday provided an update on a previously issued order centered on "sizable" outbreaks of the new coronavirus at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

As Austin Public Health Interim Authority Dr. Mark Escott said on Monday via an order outlining enhanced hygienic procedures, there have been at least 16 deaths at area facilities catering to elderly residents. Of those deaths, 15 were residents and one was a staff member, Escott said.

All told, Escott added, 96 residents at such facilities and 67 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. During his press conference, Escott noted said one facility alone had 35 people contract the virus and one staff member.

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“Once COVID-19 gets into a a facility it’s becoming very difficult to control it at that stage,” Escott said. “Not only are patients or residents getting sick, but also staff are getting sick and that means staffing shortages are mixed with increasing populations in these facilities of patients that have more needs."

Previous coverage: Coronavirus: Austin Nursing Homes Outbreaks Prompt New Rules

Given the rising rate of illness at such facilities, Escott outlined the main elements of his previously issued order. One heightened provision centers on notification, mandating that facilities notify patients, their family members and staff whenever a coronavirus case is confirmed. Moreover, facilities must halt the intake of new or returning residents until an outbreak is neutralized, Escott added.

The newly released order also adds so-called "strike teams" as added personnel to help mitigate the scourge of illness.

The Austin American-Statesman on Wednesday profiled Maurice Dotson, a 25-year staffer at West Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in South Austin who succumbed to the respiratory ailment. "I can't stay home," he had written on his Facebook page days before his death. "I'm a health care worker." He is belieed to be the first health care worker in Austin to die after contracting the COVID-19 virus, according to the report.

On a related front, Escott suggested it may be a while before the city is able to stage large-scale gatherings again — specators sports gatherings, music festivals and the like — given the pervasive nature of respiratory illness. Several factors will have to be in place before normalcy can return, including a rate of confirmed cases dropping below 10 percent; abundant supply of personal protective equipment (PPE); effective contract tracing to root out the source of outbreaks; ample health care capacity; and the ability to protect those at higher risk through isolation or "cocooning."

Escott continued to urge the public to practice physical distancing and wearing of fabric coverings — both seen as effective tactics in blunting the spread of illness given the lack of a vaccine for the respiratory ailment.