More than 100 residents and 50 employees at a nursing facility in South Fayette have tested positive for COVID-19 recently. Four people have died as of Nov. 17, according to the Tribune-Review.
The infection rate at Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center (located in South Fayette) has skyrocketed since earlier this month, when the facility reported a small number of positive COVID-19 tests.
The 194-bed facility had between one and four residents and 10 staff members test positive for covid-19 on Nov. 4. The state redacts the exact number of cases when that number is below five and not zero.
Dillon Carr, Tribune-Review
Then, Nov. 10, the state reported 19 residents and 24 staff members tested positive. When that data was released, the center had zero covid-related deaths.
In response to the outbreak, the facility’s parent company, Genesis Health Care, has brought in additional, temporary staffers and will conduct twice-weekly COVID tests on all residents and employees.
This local outbreak is part of a nationwide trend as the coronavirus has been sweeping through nursing homes in recent weeks.
Less than 1% of America’s population lives in nursing homes, but these facilities are linked to 40% of all U.S. coronavirus cases, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Despite visitor restrictions and twice-weekly testing, many facilities have struggled to keep the virus at bay when the infection rate begins surging in the surrounding community.
“When you are in a virus hotspot, and you have staff going in and out of the facility every day, the virus is going to get in. It’s really hard to keep it out completely,” said University of Chicago professor Tamara Konetzka in an interview with USA Today.