More than 60 people associated with a Graves County nursing home have the coronavirus as of Tuesday, and six former residents of that home have died.
Mills Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Administrator David Dietz in a release said 21 residents with the coronavirus are hospitalized, another 20 positive residents are at the nursing home, and 23 positive staff members are quarantined at home. The Mayfield nursing home announced last week that several staff and residents had the virus; 85 tests have been administered at the home.
Graves County Health Director Noel Coplen said these cases account for more than two-thirds of the county’s 82 positive cases. He also said it’s hard to contain an outbreak in a nursing home because of the close quarters and advanced age of the residents.
“The virus could very well be more detrimental to a fragile population opposed to a population of 20-year-olds,” Coplen said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, doesn’t matter if it’s the cold and sniffles. It sure does spread easy as opposed to single family dwelling units where people are more apart.”
The statehas offered medical student volunteers to impacted nursing homes to help replace and replenish staffing who may be exhausted or sick with the virus. Coplen said Mills Nursing and Rehabilitation Center hasn’t asked for staffing help, but local officials have donated personal protective equipment to the center.
Dietz said some residents and staff have returned back to the nursing home healthy.
“We are so thankful for the members of the Mayfield community who have supported us during these challenging times,” Dietz said in a statement. “The assistance from our sister centers as well as from our regional staff has been critical to our ability to effectively battle this virus and we thank them profusely.”
