Known cases of coronavirus connected to Columbia nursing home more than double in days
A Columbia nursing home now tops the lists of infections of the coronavirus after the known cases more than doubled in two days.
The 88-bed Midland Health and Rehabilitation Center in Columbia has the highest amount of COVID-19 cases among nursing homes in the state with 73 infections among staff and residents, according to statistics from the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
On Tuesday, DHEC was reporting that 29 people connected to the nursing home had the coronavirus, placing the facility 2nd on a list of 56 nursing homes and other similar centers. By Thursday morning the number of cases had jumped over 150 percent; the increase is likely because of more residents and staff being tested for the virus.
A nursing home in Hanahan with 62 cases ranks second on DHEC’s list, followed by a facility in Greer with 40 cases.
In total 435 cases of the coronavirus with 28 deaths are connected to South Carolina nursing homes and similar facilities, according to DHEC.
Midlands Health and Rehabilitation Center could not be reached for comment before publication.
On the nursing home’s website it says the facility is following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control concerning the prevention of the coronavirus. In an effort to combat the spread of the virus, Midlands Health and Rehabilitation Center said it has increased sanitation of its facility, informed its staff on the use of personal protective equipment and stopped certain visitations.
Midlands Health and Rehabilitation Center is located at 1007 N. Kings St off Trenholm Road Extension in Northeast Columbia about a mile from the interchange of Interstate 77 and Two Notch Road.
On Tuesday, DHEC revealed the names of nursing homes and other care facilities around the state where residents and staff tested positive for COVID-19 since April 3.
The disclosure came Tuesday evening, one day after The State newspaper reported that DHEC had kept secret the names of nursing homes where residents and staff had been infected.
People 60 and over have proved the most vulnerable to being killed by COVID-19, a severe and easily transmitted respiratory illness that damages the lungs and other organs.
Coronavirus cases in the state surpassed 5,000 Friday, state health officials announced. Richland County has the highest number of cases in the state with 766, according to DHEC’s latest statistics.
As of Friday, 157 people in South Carolina have died of the disease.
Emily Bohatch, John Monk, Sammy Fretwell and Joseph Bustos contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 11:24 AM.