Two “presumed positive” fatal cases add to death toll at Henrico nursing home

As of Friday, center reports 6 deaths.

Published March 27, 2020 by Kate Andrews

A Henrico County longterm care facility, Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, reported two deaths of “presumed positive” COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, in addition to four deaths earlier this week of people whose test results had already come back positive.

One man died at a hospital and the other at the center, according to Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Henrico and Richmond health departments. He estimated Friday night that 53 or 54 residents are showing potential symptoms at the center, having spoken earlier in the day with its medical director.

With the addition of the two most recent fatalities, there are now six deaths connected to the center. According to Canterbury’s Friday update, there are now 19 residents and six workers with positive tests.

The biggest issues currently are staffing and personal protection equipment, although Avula said he hopes there will be more staff to replace those who are sick or quarantined after contacting nursing staffing agencies. The Henrico County Health Department has provided gloves, masks and gowns to the center this week, but Avula said they’re now looking at providing more so staff members who don’t work directly in an isolation unit with COVID-19 patients are protected.

Five residents are now receiving treatment at a regional hospital, and 10 are now in an isolated unit at the western Henrico center. The number of outstanding tests and “presumed positive” cases is shifting, the center said in its statement.

At a Friday evening news conference, Avula said that one man who died Friday was tested by a private lab, and the Virginia Department of Health has not yet verified the test. The second man had symptoms that came on more recently, and Avula said he did not know if test results have come back for the patient.

“On Wednesday, our medical director personally reached out to each Canterbury family with a COVID-19 positive loved one,” Canterbury Administrator Jeremiah Davis said in a statement Friday. “Members of the Canterbury team reached out to the families of all other residents. Further, we are establishing a dedicated phone line explicitly for families with questions; we have a team in place that will respond as quickly as possible to those calls.”