RIVERSIDE (AP) — A skilled nursing facility in Southern California where nearly three dozen residents are infected with the coronavirus is being evacuated after staff members failed to show up to care for them, officials said Wednesday.
Riverside County public health officials said in a statement that 84 patients will be moved from the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside after staff didn’t show up two days in a row.
One of 13 certified nursing assistants showed up to work, the statement said, which prompted the county to send in nurses.
Five employees and 34 residents at the 90-bed skilled nursing facility have been found to have the virus, the statement said.
It was not immediately clear which facilities would receive the residents. These facilities will undergo containment measures including closing to new patients and isolating sick residents, the statement said.
Outbreaks at nursing homes and elder residences have alarmed experts. They are challenging for health officials due to the age and condition of the residents and their close proximity to each other.
At a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, nearly 50 people have been infected and one person has died.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
