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A Co Laois nursing home has confirmed it is dealing with 31 cases of coronavirus in one of the largest outbreaks of the disease in a care facility since infections began to rise again.
Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home in Portlaoise said it is handling 21 cases of Covid-19 disease among residents and another 10 cases among staff.
Infected residents who tested positive are isolated in their rooms according to public health protocols and guidelines.
The facility’s director of nursing leads a care team and is working closely with HSE public health officials to ensure that steps are taken to contain the virus.
The care center, which is owned by nursing home operator Brindley Healthcare, can house up to 52 residents.
The home did not disclose the total number of residents and staff it currently has.
A spokeswoman for the nursing home said that since the cases were confirmed late last week, the residents’ families had been continuously updated.
“A family liaison officer was appointed to the nursing home last night and is interacting with the families of the residents at the home,” he said.
“All the families have been contacted directly by phone between last night and this morning and have been informed about the state of health, well-being and care of their relatives.”
The nursing home declined to comment on the residents’ health status.
Kilminchy’s chief inspector at the health services regulator, the Health Information and Quality Authority, is supporting the home during the outbreak.
The spotlight thanked its staff for their “dedication, selfless efforts and tireless work.”
The nursing home is closed to visitors in accordance with Level 3 restrictions imposed by the government across the country in response to the growing number of cases of the disease.
Fine Gael TD for Laois Offaly Charlie Flanagan said he had written to the HSE asking for a report on the outbreak and asking that “all help and assistance” be provided to the privately owned house. He said “maximum vigilance” was required to prevent outbreaks in nursing homes.
The state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, warned of rising Covid-19 cases in nursing homes in a letter on Sunday seeking stronger public measures to suppress the virus.
He said that at least 45 more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed among nursing home residents in seven new outbreaks reported in the past week.
There are 31 open outbreaks of Covid-19 in nursing homes, up from 38 at the end of last month. An outbreak is declared closed after 28 days with no new cases reported.
Nursing homes have been on the front line of the pandemic, accounting for more than half of the 1,810 deaths from the disease in the state since the first nursing home outbreak in March.
The HSE has been conducting serial testing of staff at 568 nursing homes in an attempt to identify cases before outbreaks occur.
The positivity rate in tests has increased, from 0.13 percent in July to 0.19 percent in August to 0.33 percent in nearly 42,000 swabs taken so far during September and this month.
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