Durban - CORONAVIRUS continues to wreak havoc in old-age homes around the province, with two women dying at the Juana Maria Frail Aged Home in Ladysmith last week.
At least eight people at the facility - four staff and four residents - have tested positive for the virus.
An insider who asked not to be named said all residents were in isolation in their rooms.
“Two residents who shared the same area as the late ladies are now in a critical but stable condition. Four staff including an admin employee are off after they tested positive for the virus. Our doctor received his results this morning (yesterday) and he is positive. He has done a sterling job for the home and this virus has thrown everything into disarray here. Senior personnel are included among those in quarantine,” said the insider.
She said with the elderly being vulnerable to Covid-19, staff were doing all they could to ensure residents and employees were protected from infection. Government officials had been kept abreast of developments.
The home needed nebulisers, an oxygen machine and plastic basins as it was short of these.
The facility’s manager was in quarantine and could not be reached.
The Association for the Aged (Tafta) said yesterday it had 26 confirmed Covid-19 cases (21 residents and five staff).
Chief executive Femada Shamam said of the 26, five of the first cases had fully recovered from the virus, and one person had died at Tafta on Ridge two weeks ago.
“We’re extremely happy to report in this update communication that our second elder who contracted the virus at Tafta on Ridge is faring so well that he says he feels almost back to normal and has tested negative. We thank his family for getting involved in his recovery, and motivating him to push through the worst part of his illness,” Shamam said.
“Tafta has a registered social worker attached to each of our homes. These social workers continue to assess our residents’ coping abilities and their psychological and physical well-being. They offer psycho-social counselling on a one-to-one basis and we aim to build their self-reliance so that they feel enabled to cope during this time,” said Shamam.
Daily News