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The scope of the coronavirus outbreak at Birchwood Terrace continues to expand, as the facility announced Monday that 22 of its staff members have tested positive for Covid-19.
The new cases are in addition to the 26 residents of the Burlington nursing home and rehab center who have been infected, according to executive director Alecia DiMario.
The remaining staff and residents have tested negative in a facility-wide testing effort that was completed Friday. Another round of testing will be run this week, DiMario said.
“We also continue to proactively monitor and test residents who previously tested negative,” she added. Two of the infected residents had been hospitalized at UVM Medical Center.
The coronavirus infected Birchwood residents and staff at a pace nearly equal to that of Burlington Health & Rehab, where eight residents have now died.
As of last Friday, 26 residents and 14 staffers at BHR tested positive for Covid-19. Families and residents pushed for more widespread testing for weeks. Others complained that staff had not followed protocol to protect themselves and those they cared for.
Officials from Vermont’s Department of Health have said that both centers followed proper safety measures.
Birchwood Terrace has been working with the UVM Medical Center to ensure it can remain fully staffed, including daily calls and meetings to review staffing schedules and resident needs, DiMario said in an email. “As such, the support may change from day to day,” she said.
All told, 543 people across Vermont have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday. Of those, 23 have died. The state has conducted 6,633 tests.
