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Updated April 1st, 2020 at 16:16 IST

Virus infects over 50 at California nursing home

A Southern California nursing home has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 50 residents infected - a troubling development amid cautious optimism that cases in the state may peak more slowly than expected.

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A Southern California nursing home has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 50 residents infected - a troubling development amid cautious optimism that cases in the state may peak more slowly than expected.

Cedar Mountain Post Acute Rehabilitation in Yucaipa has been told to assume that all of its patients have the COVID-19 virus, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health Director Trudy Raymundo said.

As of Tuesday, 51 residents and six staff members had tested positive.

Two patients have died, including an 82-year-old woman who had existing health problems.

The nursing home east of Los Angeles isn't accepting new residents and the facility has been closed to visitors under Gov. Gavin Newsom's two-week-old stay-at-home order, Raymundo said.

On Tuesday, there were more than 8,200 cases and at least 173 deaths reported in California, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. Michigan, which has 30 million fewer residents, had about 7,600 cases and at least 259 deaths.

Health officials have warned that as testing ramps up, the number of cases will grow, in some instances very quickly.

Many have credited the state’s early action to issue stay-at-home orders - first in the San Francisco Bay Area two weeks ago and then a few days later in Los Angeles and the rest of the state - with successfully slowing the rise of cases.

U.S. Rep. Paul Cook, who represents the area that includes Yucaipa, said he and others had told themselves: “'God almighty, I hope that it never breaks out in a convalescent home,' and this is what has happened.”

“It could be serious today and even worse tomorrow if we don't do our jobs," he said. “We've got to make sure that this does not spread."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

 

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Published April 1st, 2020 at 16:16 IST

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