Connecticut orders mandatory testing of all nursing home staff in hopes of staving off outbreaks, deaths as COVID-19 cases climb

Against a backdrop of rapidly increasing coronavirus infections, the state has ordered the resumption of mandatory weekly testing of all nursing home and assisted living employees in a bid to contain outbreaks and potential fatalities. The number of staff testing positive for the coronavirus more than doubled in the past two weeks.

In a blast fax sent to all providers, interim DPH Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said because of the rising cases of COVID-19 she was ordering mandatory testing of all staff weekly to begin no later than Nov. 1 and continue until further notice. The order applies to all 214 nursing homes and 212 assisted living facilities in the state.

Just as the state has started to see a stark increase in COVID-19 cases, so have nursing homes. Just two weeks ago there were 41 nursing home staff that tested positive -- the latest numbers released Oct. 22 show there were 91 last week.

The number of infected residents has also increased. Two weeks ago, the number of nursing home residents who tested positive for the virus was 36; that number jumped to 71 last week. Even more ominously, the number of deaths skyrocketed from four two weeks ago to 15 last week.

With increased testing, more inspections and better separation of infected residents, state officials and providers believe they have a better handle on the virus that devastated nursing home facilities across the state in April and May. More than 70% of the state’s nearly 4,600 deaths were in congregate facilities.

But the escalating numbers, highlighted by recent outbreaks at facilities in Colchester and Avon, are reminders that once the virus gets into a facility the results can be devastating. Harrington Court in Colchester has had at least 10 deaths; Avon Health Care has had at least eight deaths, plus two more at The Residence at Brookside, a nearby assisted living facility.

In the case of Avon Health, officials believe the virus was spread between the nursing home and Brookside by employees who worked at both facilities. The Avon Health Center has had 41 employees test positive for the virus, while Brookside has had five employees test positive.

“We are miles ahead of where we were in April and May but as we have seen recently when the virus gets into a building the fatality rate can still be high,” said Matthew Barrett, president of the largest nursing home and assisted living association in the state.

Barrett said he agrees with the increased testing as the COVID rates increase across the state. “It’s now well-established scientific fact that congregate settings like nursing homes and assisted living communities are at much greater risk when COVID-19 is on the rise,” he said.

“In this sense, I would like to add on to what the Governor is saying -- that everyone in Connecticut should understand that when they are doing their part in keeping COVID-19 down by wearing a mask, distancing and hand washing, they are making an enormous contribution to protecting vulnerable communities, especially nursing homes and assisted living communities,” Barrett said.

Gifford’s order didn’t address residents of long-term care facilities. If a facility gets a positive case, either of a resident or staff, then all residents must be tested weekly.

“Clearly right now the virus is spreading within the community so we need to be prepared,” Athena Health Care Marketing Director Timothy Brown said.

An Athena-owned facility, the Wadsworth Glen Health Care Center in Middletown, last week had 19 positive cases and one death. Brown said they were able to stop the spread by transferring all of the positive cases to Northbridge, another Athena-owned facility in Bridgeport, that was designated a COVID recovery facility in the spring.

In May the state started testing all residents of nursing home and assisted living facilities to try and stop the spread of the virus. The mass testing allowed providers to identify asymptomatic residents and cohort them accordingly. Throughout the summer the deaths and cases in long-term care facilities dropped to almost none.

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