State health officials are issuing
an urgent plea to nursing home residents to not go home for the Thanksgiving
holiday - as the risk could be too great.
The warning comes
as COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are rising, and state health officials are
scrambling to keep the numbers under control.
"We are
encouraging family members not to take their loved ones home for
Thanksgiving," says Dr. Deidre Gifford, the acting Connecticut
public health commissioner.
She wants nursing home residents to
stay there this Thanksgiving.
"We
certainly understand the desire for loved ones to be together over the
holidays. We are all experiencing that. However, it does pose a particular risk
for the elderly," she says.
In the past few weeks, COVID-19
cases have jumped in nursing homes. To
contain the kind of outbreaks the state saw this spring, officials are bringing back COVID-only
nursing homes in Torrington, Meriden, Wallingford and East Hartford.
So far, they're
only about half-full - but Westfield Care and Rehab in Meriden is
filling up fast, so health officials are watching the numbers closely.
"We are
actually pretty confident about this 370- to 400-bed capacity right
now. We did some modeling at the end of last summer," says Lita Orefice,
of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
As the weather gets colder, some
nursing homes are setting up tents for outdoor visits.
But for residents, it could be a
very lonely winter.
"I
miss the human contact. I really miss, you know, somebody can't even
really give you a hug," says nursing home resident Jeanette
Sullivan-Martinez.
As for
Thanksgiving, even if residents stay at a nursing home, they can at least get a
taste of home. Families can drop off a home-cooked meal for them.