Nursing homes hit again by Covid
CORONAVIRUS cases have been confirmed at two nursing homes in the southeast and in a hospital in Limerick – raising fears of a new outbreak among the most vulnerable.
A staff member at Mooncoin Residential Care Centre in south Kilkenny and one person at Kerlogue Nursing Home in Co. Wexford have tested positive. A staff member and a patient have also tested positive at University Hospital Limerick.
Kieran O’Reilly, co-owner of the Mooncoin nursing home, told Wexford Local Radio that all other tests had come back negative and preventive measures and extra monitoring processes were put in place immediately to protect residents. He said it is the home’s first coronavirus case.
‘This round of testing is our sixth round,’ said Mr O’Reilly.
‘Unfortunately, this time we returned one positive test from a staff member, all other tests came back “not detected”.’
He said that people need to keep in mind that the virus has not disappeared.
‘We believe it’s in everyone’s best interests, all over the country, that everybody is made aware of what’s occurring in relation to Covid in their communities so everyone can do what they’re supposed to do to protect themselves,’ he added.
Meanwhile, a case has also been confirmed at Kerlogue Nursing Home, Co. Wexford.
The centre in Rocksborough, just south of Wexford town, has not said whether the infected person was a resident or a staff member.
It said in a statement that it has ‘unfortunately one confirmed case of Covid-19’.
‘We are engaging with health officials with regard to comprehensive contact tracing and all necessary precautions are being taken. We are collectively focused on providing residents in our nursing home with the best possible care, and protecting them from Covid-19,’ it said.
Kerlogue had taken many steps to avoid infection, including socially distanced Mass in the garden. Some residents had been busy making crafts for residents of another nursing home and had been enjoying singalongs in the garden, while keeping their distance from one another.
Separately, an Outbreak Control Team has been established at University Hospital Limerick after one patient and one member of staff tested positive. In a statement yesterday evening, the UL Hospitals Group said contact tracing and testing is under way there. A spokesman told the Limerick Leader newspaper: ‘A number of staff from the ward (3B) at the centre of what we believe to be a localised outbreak have been identified as contacts.
‘They have been asked to stay off work and to self-isolate, in line with national guidance. Initial testing of all patient contacts is complete and has not identified further cases.’
They said that the initial testing of all staff contacts is expected to be completed today and that all patients on the ward had been informed of the outbreak. Chief operations manager at the UL Hospitals Group Noreen Spillane said: ‘This is the first outbreak of Covid-19 to have occurred in UHL since the start of the pandemic. This is unfortunate but we have every reason to believe that this is a limited outbreak that is contained in the ward in question.’ UL Hospitals Group urged patients to co-operate with the visiting restrictions across all six of its hospitals.
Meanwhile, close to 30 cases of Covid-19 were discovered at a mushroom plant in Tipperary following testing over the weekend, with more results expected to be announced in the coming days.
Walsh Mushrooms in Golden suspended operations last week after one member of staff was diagnosed with Covid-19 while in self-isolation, with subsequent testing of close contacts resulting in further positive tests.
It is understood an additional 18 workers at the plant tested positive over the weekend, bringing the total number of cases there to 29.
Meanwhile, a Wexford home and garden centre has shut down after a part-time employee there tested positive. Up to 15 employees at Cois na hAbhann in Camolin, north Wexford, were sent home before it was shut down.
It has emerged that the employee was on the premises for four hours last week and has since tested positive.
The affected employee was not in contact with customers.
Yesterday saw the publication of a report by the Covid-19 Nursing Home Expert Panel, in which there were several recommendations to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to prevent the spread of the virus in nursing homes.
‘We believe this is a limited outbreak’