Twelve residents of a Louisiana nursing home have tested positive for coronavirus, the facility confirmed Tuesday.
After the discovery of the first positive resident, Lambeth House, in uptown New Orleans, went into lockdown on Friday.
Of the home’s 268 residents, 26 have been tested for the virus, 17 are in isolation and the results of some tests are still pending, and one has died a spokesperson told CNN.
It comes after a nationwide moratorium on visitors to nursing homes was implemented on Friday, as it became clear that the facilities are sites for quick spread among elderly people who are more vulnerable to life-threatening infection.
Twelve patients at the Lambeth House (pictured) in New Orleans have tested positive for coronavirus. One has died and 17 are in isolation, a spokesperson told CNN
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) permitted on-site testing after a first resident tested positive last week.
Lambeth House is now screening any necessary visitors to its grounds, including its entire staff and all postal or FedEx workers.
Staff members are taking the temperatures of all residents and checking in on them via phone calls on a daily basis, a spokesperson told CNN.
On-site amenities at Lambeth Houses have also been shut down to limit social contact among the residents.
All of these measures are in keeping with restrictions imposed under the Trump administration’s Friday declaration of a state of emergency.
No visitors are allowed on the premises of nursing and retirement facilities, with limited exceptions, such as end-of-life scenarios.
Residents of the Lambeth House are also now barred from leaving the facility.
However, one of the residents confirmed to have coronavirus is currently in isolation at their family home, and seven are hospitalized.
More than 5,000 Americans have coronavirus and nearly 100 have died
Sixteen patients are in isolation at Lambeth House, while one is in isolation at their family home. All staff and residents alike are being temperature checked daily
One of those who tested positive has died.
Three of the 148 people who have tested positive in Louisiana have died.
Nationwide, more than 5,00 people have coronavirus. Many cities have ordered closures for businesses where people gather, such as gyms, bars and restaurants.
In some places, eating and drinking establishments have been told to remove chairs and tables and only serve customers via delivery and pick up.
During a Tuesday evening press briefing, President Trump and his coronavirus task force emphasized the importance of social distancing for all Americans to limit the spread of the highly-contagious coronavirus.
Social distancing is primarily being encouraged to protect the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, who are at greatest risk of developing serious disease after contracting COVID-19.
With age, the body’s immune system starts to degrade, making it less capable of swiftly and effectively identifying pathogens and attacking them.
This makes elderly people more at risk of becoming infected with coronavirus as well as any viral or bacterial infections.
And once their immune response does kick in, it’s more likely to overreact, causing what’s known as a cytokine storm – a rapid influx of immune cells that go off the rails, attack healthy tissues and cause dangerous inflammation.
The US first saw the devastating potential of coronavirus for elderly people when 29 people at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington died of the infection, accounting for nearly a quarter of the facility’s 120 patients.