57 residents infected at Buck head nursing home

The number of coronavirus cases at William Breman Jewish Home on Howell Mill Road has recently surged, bringing the total to 57 residents over the course of the pandemic, with 10 dying, according to the Department of Community Health’s daily status report. Three staffff members have also tested positive at the nursing home, which currently has about 60 residents.

Until mid- October, the home had

reported only a dozen residents testing positive throughout the pandemic. But in the last two weeks, the virus has quickly spread through the facility, according to the state reports.

Shari Bayer, a spokeswoman for Jewish HomeLife, which operates the William Breman home, said inspectors found no deficiencies at the facility during checks of its infection-control procedures, including one conducted last month.

Along with the Buckhead facility, state fifigures show that nursing homes in Ellijay, Fairburn, Eastman and Lafayette have all been hit with outbreaks in October after staying relatively safe for most of the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, more than 2,600 Georgians in long-term care facilities have died from the virus, according

to the state. At least 15,300 longterm residents and more than 8,000 staffff have tested positive in spite of state and federal requirements for testing and limits on visitors at nursing homes, assisted living communities and personal care homes.