COVID-19 has ravaged nursing homes across the country, and one of New Jersey’s largest long-term care facilities was no exception. But it's the way in which the tragedy at Andover Subacute and Rehab Center I and II unfolded that's particularly chilling.
On Monday, police went to the nursing home after receiving an anonymous tip about a body being kept in an outdoor shed, The New York Times reports. When authorities arrived, the corpse had been cleared away from the shed—but they then found 17 bodies stacked in the nursing facility’s morgue, which is only meant to hold four people.
“They were just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring,” Eric Danielson, the police chief in Andover told The Times.
The 17 corpses were part of a group of 68 bodies connected to Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II, including two nurses. Twenty-six of the people who died had tested positive for the virus, and the cause of death for the others isn’t known. Among the other patients, 76 have tested positive—and 41 staff members, including an administrator, are sick.
The virus has killed thousands of residents at nursing facilities throughout the New York region, facilities that have already been enduring shortages in staff and personal protective equipment.
“The challenge we’re having with all of these nursing homes, is once it spreads, it’s like a wildfire,” Representative Josh Gottheimer told the publication. “It’s very hard to stop it.”
He said that his office has been receiving calls from staff members and relatives, begging for assistance. He’s also contacted FEMA about sending National Guard Medics. The state Department of Health has also sent shipments consisting of 3,200 surgical masks, 1,400 N95 masks, and 10,000 gloves to the nursing homes. Most of New Jersey’s long-term care facilities have reported one case of coronavirus.
“It’s pretty clear that a big weakness in the system, and in reality, is long-term care facilities,” Gov. Philip D. Murphy said.
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