The coronavirus pandemic has hit ManorCare Health Services Tice Valley in Walnut Creek hard. Between staff and residents, state records show there have been 130 positive cases.
As of Sunday, 92 residents at the skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility have had COVID-19. Of those, 25 are currently testing positive and 12 have died. Thirty-eight staff members have tested positive and many have recovered.
In a statement, ManorCare said that when it was able to test everyone on site, it found many asymptomatic cases.
“Mostly sad for people who got the virus,” said Edgar Sanchez, who works across the street where staff could pick up a meal. “For me, knowing a facility near where I work makes me nervous, more cautious about what I touch.”
ManorCare says it is isolating patients, restricting new admissions, limiting visitation, and increasing sanitizing.
It says employees who test positive are required to quarantine.
“Phoner nursing homes the way they're set up are incubators for this disease,” said Pat McGinnig with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
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She says there needs to be aggressive testing at nursing homes to identify and isolate cases faster.
“Phoner testing is a major issue if you don't know a worker is positive; they're asymptomatic and you want them to work,” McGinnis said.
Nearly 3,000 skilled nursing home residents in California have died from COVID-19.
