Cape Town - The Kensington Home for the Aged has gone from having zero infections a week ago to 12 confirmed cases after one of its residents died of Covid-19.
The home shared the news on its Facebook page on Wednesday to inform family members and loved ones whom they were not able to reach telephonically.
A week ago, the home said they were concerned about the phased reopening of schools and that staff members with children attending school could be at risk of contracting the virus.
The first case was confirmed on July 1. Two more tests were conducted on July 2 and three more on July 3, with three positive and two negative results. On Monday and Tuesday, a further 12 people were tested.
Home manager Leon Courie said of those tested, six results had come back positive, two negative and four are still awaiting results.
“It was inevitable, with the opening of schools, that we were going to be affected. We are not pointing fingers at anyone but when the Minister of Education and her advisers decided on opening the schools, the impact on the elderly was not considered. We have staff who have learners attending the schools that were infected,” said Courie.
“Quite a few of our staff are at home because their children’s teacher tested positive and some parents also interacted with teachers who tested positive. This is putting a huge strain on our resources and our ability to provide quality care for our residents.
“So far, none of our staff are showing symptoms, but then again, they could be asymptomatic,” read the Facebook post.
The home has 95 residents and 55 staff members.
All staff members tested received negative results, however, eight are in self-isolation due to possible contact with a confirmed case or for presenting flu-like symptoms.
“The residents are concerned but not panicking. The challenge we face is to monitor dementia residents continuously because they are always looking for someone or something and we fear they might find their way to our isolation and quarantine area,” said Courie.
Some staff have become panic-stricken. Staff returning from leave must undergo screening at the day hospital before returning to work.”
The home is currently faced with a shortage of disposable gowns, plastic aprons, mop caps, shoe covers and vitamin tablets for residents.
“Quite a few of our residents don’t have families or have not received visits from their families in months or years or are not reachable.”