Long-term care facilities are getting on board when it comes to coronavirus testing as the number of deaths rose to 208.
Delaware Division of Public Health Director, Dr. Karyl Rattay announced Friday at a press briefing that 75 percent of care centers have now requested test kits. On Tuesday, Rattay said only 15 percent of all facilities had made requests.
Rattay said outreach efforts by health officials as well as more detailed guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were helpful in improving the response
Rattay said state labs that can provide rapid results will be used in testing nursing home staff to ensure that positive cases are quickly detected.
The state had set the goal of having all long-term car staff and residents be tested for COVID-19 and did not rule out making the process mandatory.
The news comes as the state released weekly figures on the number of deaths at long-term care facilities.
There have been a total of 607 positive COVID-19 cases cumulatively involving long-term care residents, and 208 residents of Delaware long-term care facilities have died from complications related to COVID-19.
Long-term residents have accounted for about 65 percent of all coronavirus deaths in Delaware.
The locations and number of deaths related to long-term care facilities are:
- Atlantic Shores Rehabilitation and Health Center, Millsboro (10)
- Brackenville Center, Genesis Healthcare, Hockessin (11)
- Brandywine Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Wilmington (16)
- Cadia Broadmeadow, Middletown (7)
- Delaware Psychiatric Center, New Castle (3)
- Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill, Smyrna (7)
- Governor Bacon Health Center, Delaware City (1)
- Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Lewes (13)
- Harrison House Senior Living, Georgetown (21)
- Hillside Center, Wilmington (3)
- Little Sisters of the Poor, Newark (11)
- ManorCare Health Services, Wilmington (9)
- ManorCare Health Services, Pike Creek (5)
- Methodist Country House, Wilmington (3)
- Milford Center, Genesis Healthcare, Milford (31)
- New Castle Health and Rehabilitation Center, New Castle (7)
- Newark Manor Nursing Home, Newark (5)
- Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation, Wilmington (12)
- Pinnacle Rehabilitation and Health Center, Smyrna (14)
- Regal Heights Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Hockessin (2)
- Summit Assisted Living, Hockessin (3)
- Westminster Village, Dover (6)
- Seven other New Castle County long-term care facilities (1 death at each facility)
- One Sussex County long-term care facility (1 death at the facility)
