As if the dilemma over potentially harmful family gatherings for Thanksgiving wasn’t enough, we received an even more poignant reminder this week about the ease with which the novel coronavirus can spread.
As of this writing, 86 residents and staff members at Golden LivingCenter-Brandywine, a nursing home on the north side of Greenfield, recently have been infected with COVID-19. That includes more than two-thirds of the residents and two dozen employees.
Like the outbreak in the spring at another nursing home, Greenfield Healthcare Center, this cluster of infections is harrowing in its scope. But in the case of Greenfield Healthcare, the infections spread over the course of a couple of months. At Brandywine, the novel coronavirus raced through the population in a matter of days.
The outbreak follows a trend: In communities like ours where infections have been increasing, COVID-19 eventually finds its way into congregate settings such as nursing homes. According to the Indiana State Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, Hancock County has set records 12 times in the past month for the number of newly reported daily infections. The rolling seven-day average of infections has risen by a factor of 10 since Oct. 1. More tests are being administered now, to be sure, but the positivity rate is also soaring. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 3.5% on Oct. 1. This week, it was 18.2%
So, this outbreak, really, is no surprise. It was only a matter of time. Other outbreaks may well follow.
“The COVID-19 virus remains a real and devastating disease, especially to our most vulnerable,” the county’s public health officer, Dr. Sandra Aspy, told the Daily Reporter’s Mitchell Kirk earlier this week.
COVID-19, she noted, “wreaks havoc in our long-term care facilities and in congregate living settings.”
Statistics about our vulnerable population bear this out: In Hancock County, people ages 50 and up make up 40% of the infections. They make up 98% of the deaths. A lot of people never get sick from their exposure or have only mild symptoms. For others, COVID-19 remains a life-threatening illness.
This is Exhibit A for where we are nine months into the pandemic.
Our hearts go out to the residents and staff at Golden LivingCenter-Brandywine. Their struggle illustrates the importance of doing all the things we have learned help prevent the spread of the virus. We should keep them in mind the next time we’re tempted to go maskless.
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