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A nursing home in New York has reported the deaths of 98 residents believed to have had coronavirus.
The “horrifying” death toll at the Isabella Geriatric Center in Manhattan is believed to be one of the worst outbreaks in the United States.
Initially, state officials only recorded 13 deaths, but staff at the 705-bed house later confirmed that up to 46 residents tested positive for COVID-19 He had died and 52 other people suspected of having the virus.
Some died in the nursing home, and others died after being treated at different hospitals.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said: “It is absolutely horrible. It is an invaluable loss, and it is impossible to imagine so many people lost in one place.”
The outbreak is believed to be one of the worst in the United States.
The number of bodies became so overwhelming that the house ordered a refrigerator truck to store them because funeral homes have taken days to pick up the deceased.
Audrey Waters, a nursing home spokeswoman, wrote in an email: “Isabella, like all nursing homes in New York City, initially had limited access to consistent and widespread internal testing to quickly diagnose our residents and the personal.
“This hampered our ability to identify infected and asymptomatic people, despite our efforts to quickly separate anyone with symptoms.”
Isabella was also struggling with staffing shortages and was forced to hire caregivers from outside agencies and found it difficult to obtain personal protective equipment for employees.
Waters said the house is finally “getting more access to the evidence” now.
Nursing homes from the first days of the outbreak are known to be vulnerable to COVID-19 and have been particularly hard hit in New York, which had at least 3,065 nursing home deaths according to figures compiled as of Thursday.
The state Health Department said it has received “outbreak reports” from 239 nursing homes, including at least six facilities with a death toll of 40 or more patients.
The mayor added: “The only thing we know now about nursing homes is that the status quo cannot continue to say the least. Something very different has to happen.”
Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, accused Isabella of keeping the public and elected officials in the dark about the outbreak.
He sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Attorney General Letitia James, urging them to investigate “information sharing practices” in New York nursing homes.
The center said it “could not speculate” on why a state survey previously listed only 13 COVID-19 deaths at its facilities, adding that it “truthfully and accurately reported” its death toll to state officials.
Officials are compiling an updated dataset in an attempt to offer a more detailed look at deaths in nursing homes.
Cuomo referred to “vagueness” in some suspicious COVID-19 case reports, but cautioned nursing homes not to falsify their death tolls.
He said: “They present these numbers under penalty of perjury.
“They can be criminally prosecuted for fraud in any of these reporting numbers.”
Isabella said that she kept family members informed about changes in the conditions of her loved ones despite the circumstances.
Ms. Waters said, “When we believe your loved one is near death, we reach out to a resident’s primary contact and ask if they want to say goodbye in person or by phone or an app.
“The farewell visits in person were never interrupted and continue to happen.”
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