GOSHEN – Ninety-two of the 286 residents of the Orange County-owned Valley View nursing home in Goshen have tested positive since Thanksgiving. That is 32 percent of the population. Five have died since then, nursing home Commissioner Laurence LaDue told the county legislature’s Health and Mental Health Committee this week.
He said there have been no new admissions since the day before Thanksgiving because of the spike in cases.
Also, since Thanksgiving 50 staff members have tested positive for the highly contagious virus. They work in all departments in the facility.
Employees are believed to be the source of the disease entering the nursing home. There have been no in-person visits to residents for months.
LaDue said employees are tested weekly, but that does not guarantee that the virus is kept from entering. Their temperature is taken daily upon entering the building.
The number of positive cases is not limited to Valley View. Many other nursing homes also have COVID-19 positive cases among residents and staff.
