26 new COVID-19 cases at Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town

Another 26 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town, bringing to 69 the number of persons to have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak at the facility was detected.

Speaking at the virtual COVID-19 press briefing Thursday evening, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said a breakdown of the cases shows 19 staff and 40 residents have been infected, with the classification of another 10 COVID-positive individuals awaiting confirmation.

Tufton said the 26 new positive cases were from a sample of 564 tests that were taken on Wednesday as the ministry seeks to test all the residents and staff of the facility, in the effort to contain the spread of the virus.

He said that teams from the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) Health Department and the South East Regional Health Authority visited the facility on Wednesday and Thursday. Tufton said that the different clusters were inspected by Public Health Inspectors during the visit and cleaning and sanitising guidances were given, with the authorities reiterating and reinforcing the protocols.

According to Tufton, health education officers conducted training and interacted with the staff and residents to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices towards the virus.

Meanwhile, the health minister said that the residents who were confirmed positives were assessed, found to be asymptomatic and were placed in quarantine.

“Over the next few weeks, our health team will continue to support staff at the home with the monitoring of the health status of the residents, train in infection prevention and control practices and procedures, and provide clinical support to any resident or staff who may become moderately or severely ill,” Tufton said.

He stated that the ministry will be taking all the necessary measures to ensure the best possible health outcome for the outbreak.

“I think we are very happy that no one has fallen victim in its extreme so far, but we do have 69 positive cases and so we have recommended a few changes and provided some additional training to try and avoid a reoccurrence of this particular issue,” Tufton said.