Health officials in Connecticut have ordered assisted living communities and nursing homes to resume mandatory weekly testing of employees in an effort to contain coronavirus outbreaks.
Interim Department of Public Health Commissioner Deidre Gifford, M.D., MPH, ordered testing of all staff weekly to begin no later than Nov. 1 and to continue testing until further notice due to increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. The order applies to the state’s 212 assisted living communities and 214 nursing homes, according to a published report.
The number of staff members testing positive for the virus has more than doubled in the past two weeks. The number of resident cases and deaths also is climbing as COVID-19 cases in the state trend upward.
The number of assisted living residents with new confirmed cases between Oct. 14 and 20 was 27, whereas the number of assisted living staff members with confirmed cases was 39, according to the state’s Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan report. There were no deaths among assisted living staff or residents within that timeframe.
