The number of corona infections in the care complex is increasing rapidly. Thirty employees and 33 residents are infected with the virus, almost double the number of yesterday.
Ask for additional research
In response to the rapidly increasing number of infections, the company doctor of De Blanckenborg contacted the GGD to investigate whether there is a more contagious British variant of the corona virus.
“It is going much faster than it normally is,” says director Herma Fridrichs. ‘Usually it goes one step at a time. Now we have infected entire departments in one fell swoop. That is why our doctor asked whether the British corona variant could be included in the study. ‘
GGD Groningen has now asked RIVM to conduct additional investigation into the outbreak in Blanckenborg care center, a GGD spokesperson confirms. This happens more often with large contamination numbers at one location. It is not yet clear whether the additional research will be carried out.
Puzzle
The care center is now in the business of planning the staff. “It’s a drama,” says Fridrichs. ‘It is a lot of puzzling now. We have hired more people from Extra Hands for Healthcare, but if 30 people drop out, it will be difficult. ‘
Many employees experience serious complaints after their contamination
Blanckenborg has introduced an admission stop for new patients due to the increasing number of infections. Healthcare has also scaled down. The 98 residents in total no longer receive a full shower, but are washed with a washcloth, because ‘that saves a lot of time.’
You can still receive visitors, but the center strongly discourages visitors. This is because people who receive informal care and who have extra vulnerable health reside in the care center.
Guessing
The first infection may have been caused in the hospital. At least, we think so. That person had initially tested negative, but a few days later positive anyway. But it remains guesswork. Visitors are also arriving. Every now and then people take off a face mask when they are in an apartment. ‘
Residents will therefore have to wait longer for their vaccination
Some of the 30 infected employees experience serious complaints. ‘Shortness of breath, severe fatigue and general malaise’, says Fridrichs.
Nursing homes are expected to be next month for a vaccination round. Fridrichs expects this to pass them by. ‘Infected residents cannot be vaccinated. So they have to wait longer for that. The entire vaccination round will therefore start later here. ‘
Blanckenborg does not rule out more infections for the coming days. ‘It is going very fast. But I have to say that we have been very lucky so far that we have not had any contamination. ‘
Also read:
– ‘Vaccine can alleviate concerns of nursing home staff’
– The number of infections at the Veenkade residential care center rises to ninety
– Read the latest news in our corona blog
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