Coronavirus deaths tied to Illinois long-term care facilities crossed a grim threshold this week, with more than 1,000 deaths of residents and staff linked to the virus.
In its weekly update on cases tied to such facilities, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that, as of Friday, it had recorded 1,082 deaths linked to nursing homes, assisting living centers and other long-term care facilities.
That’s nearly double what was reported a week ago, which in turn was more than double reported the week prior.
The number of total cases has also climbed to at least 7,542 cases at 348 facilities across 31 counties. That’s nearly 3,300 more cases than reported a week prior, although the state cautions the data may be undercounting cases because of challenges in tabulating timely data, as a prior Tribune report noted.
That’s perhaps nowhere more evident than a Cicero nursing home, City View Multi-Care Center, which the state’s Friday update lists with 34 cases and seven deaths.
Three days earlier, the Tribune reported that more than 200 residents and staff had tested positive. In a lawsuit filed Friday against the facility and the state, alleging inaction by both, Cicero officials said the count had grown to 216.
The numbers have exploded after the state began rolling out a new testing protocol that is attempting to test all residents and staff of homes without known cases, and test all staff at homes with cases. The state says it wants to catch the virus early in places without known cases to limit a virus spread, which is difficult to contain once it infiltrates a facility.
The nursing home industry has pushed for much more testing, and, in a statement, a leader of one trade group said she was bracing for higher figures at her members’ facilities, where staff must often work closely with residents needing basic care.
“However, we are stunned and saddened by the sheer number of cases since so many residents and staff are asymptomatic. With the silent way this virus strikes, testing really is the key to preventing further spread,” said Pat Comstock, with the Health Care Council of Illinois.
Among facilities reporting the most deaths: Symphony of Joliet, with 24, followed by Elevate Care North (22), Windsor Park Manor (20) and Glenview Terrace (19).
Symphony of Joliet and Windsor Park Manor also were among facilities with the highest number of reported cases, at 127 and 116, respectively. Others included Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion (151), Bria Forest Edge (127) and Alden Terrace of McHenry (120).
