46 COVID-19 Cases Detected At Golden Age Home

The Ministry of Health says the 43 residents who tested positive for COVID-19 at the Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town, St. Andrew have  been isolated and  work has already begun to test the additional 388 residents after an outbreak at the facility. The cluster is now the subject of a probe by the Health Ministry.

The Ministry says work has already started to limit any further spread of COVID-19 at the Golden Age Home. Health Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton says one patient is critically ill while the others are asymptomatic.

Meanwhile the Minister of Local Government says investigation have already started to determine how the virus came inside the walls.

Since March, the Ministry has suspended all visits and established several COVID-19 measures such as temperature checks, hand-washing stations, and protocols for staff including the changing of clothes upon entering the facility and mask wearing at all times.

Almost one month ago representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Kingston & St. Andrew Municipal Corporation visited the facility to observe the protocols implemented. 

The Golden Age Home says a resident began showing symptoms on October 5 which triggered the testing.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health says it is revising its testing protocols to conduct more random tests at these facilities to prevent any mass COVID outbreaks.

There are 214 nursing homes across the island, of which 206 are active .

The Ministry of Health says only 95 are COVID compliant and of the 15 infirmaries, only 7 met the criteria.

CVM LIVE’s Jamaila Maitland reports: