Nursing homes take extra precautions amid coronavirus outbreak

Long Island officials are taking steps to protect some of the most vulnerable in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

News 12 Staff

Mar 14, 2020, 12:47 PM

Updated 1,509 days ago

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Long Island officials are taking steps to protect some of the most vulnerable in the middle people of the coronavirus outbreak.

Nursing homes across the country are taking extra precautions to make sure their residents stay safe. The Gurwin Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Commack has issued a strict no visitation policy to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Workers are also screening everyone who comes inside the building for potential signs of illness. Each staff member receives a forehead scan to check their temperature and they're given a mask to wear. No one is allowed inside if their temperature is above 100 degrees.

The president and CEO of the facility says many of the patients are recovering from surgery.
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"We have 460 residents in our skilled nursing facility. Many of the residents are here for short-term rehabilitation. So it's quite a challenge to take care of them, keep them safe because there's a lot of movement of residents in and out of our building every day," said Stuart Almer.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced officials have sent NYS Clean hand sanitizer to all 41 nursing homes in Suffolk. He said it will also be delivered to all 55 assisted living homes in Suffolk.

There is no plan yet to hand the sanitizer out to the general public.

"As the supply continues to come in, we will be looking to distribute additional supplies of hand sanitizer to others. There's been no determination about the public at this point," said Bellone.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state is producing up to 100,000 gallons of hand sanitizer every week.

As of 12:30 p.m. Saturday, there are at least 37 positive cases in Suffolk County -- nine additional from Friday. Bellone said there are 104 people in Suffolk County in mandatory quarantine. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said there are at least 70 cases in the county.


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