NEWARK, Ohio — 19 residents of a nursing home in Newark are dead after an outbreak of coronavirus inside the facility, according to the Licking County Health Department (LCHD).
On July 29, LCHD confirmed eight additional deaths since reporting on July 23 that 11 had died.
According to health officials, the outbreak at Newark Care and Rehabilitation Center began on July 1. On July 29, LCHD and the Ohio Department of Health reported 73 residents and 40 employees of the nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of cases include confirmed, suspected and probable cases reported to the Ohio Department of Health.
“These types of facilities are difficult to control the virus once it gets in,” Licking County Health Commissioner Chad Brown said. “It can spread like wildfire. This population is the most susceptible to the virus. This facility also has people coming in and out for rehab, being discharged and coming in, so that can make it more challenging to control as well. Any long-term care facility like this is going to have an issue, and, once it gets inside, it’s very difficult to control.”
Stephen Short said his uncle, Bob Evans, a former owner of Newark Family Shoe Store, was a patient at the facility. Now, Short says he’s dying at Licking Memorial Hospital.
He said a doctor there delivered terrible news to him on Thursday.
“Long story short, your uncle’s not going to make it,” Short said of the conversation.
Short says, if he had known the cases were rising in the facility, he would have moved his uncle sooner. Now, he fears it is too late.
“It’s saddening,” he said. “I mean, it’s saddening because he’s basically dying by himself. And, on my mom’s side of the family, all I have is my mom and my uncle. So it’s hard.”
Commissioner Brown said the outbreak at the Newark facility is the first COVID-19 outbreak in the county, so officials felt they needed to spread the word.
“(The public is) going to start to see the case numbers go up, and the death rate, the death count is going to go up as well, so we wanted to make people aware of why that was occurring, and being the first outbreak, we wanted to make sure that that information was out to the public just so we’re being as transparent as possible regarding those rise in cases and deaths,” Brown said.
Licking County health officials says they have provided the facility with additional personal protection equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 testing supplies.
Newark Care and Rehabilitation Center Licensed Nursing Home Administrator Scott Ratliff issued the following statement: “Our continued collaboration with both the Licking County Health Department and ODH has been instrumental in our response to this outbreak. We’re encouraged by the progress we have made and the support we have received from our local community. We have been – and will continue – to follow the recommendations from LCHD, ODH, and the CDC. I’m also thankful for our dedicated Newark Care and Rehabilitation team who have worked tirelessly for the betterment of our residents during this most difficult time.”
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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