Four residents die of COVID-19 at Cayuga County nursing home

Jan. 8—An ongoing COVID-19 outbreak at a nursing home in Cayuga County claimed the lives of four more residents on Wednesday.

The Cayuga County Health Department reported the four deaths — two women in their 90s and two men in their 80s — in its latest situational update. The nursing home residents tested positive for the virus before they died.

No further information, including the nursing home where the residents lived, was released. But a state COVID-19 tracker reveals that the deaths occurred at The Commons on St. Anthony, a nursing home in Auburn.

The Commons is in the midst of an outbreak that's affected more than 115 residents at the facility. There have been 15 COVID-related deaths at the nursing home, according to the state's virus tracker.

A spokesperson for Loretto, which operates the facility, said earlier this week that droplet precaution is in effect throughout the nursing home. Under those protocols, employees are required to wear personal protective equipment, such as face shields, gloves and gowns, when caring for residents.

The outbreak has contributed to Cayuga County's rising virus-related death toll over the last few weeks. This week, the county has reported 13 COVID-19 deaths. There have been 25 deaths in 11 days, according to a review of the health department's daily reports.

Overall, the county has reported 39 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic.

Cayuga County's active COVID-19 case count remained above 1,000 for a third consecutive day. There are 1,046 people in mandatory isolation after testing positive for the virus. There were 1,049 in isolation on Tuesday.

The county set a new record with 7,540 people in mandatory quarantine, which is required for people who have direct contact with positive cases. The number of quarantined residents increased from 7,049 one day ago.

There were 106 new cases admitted on Wednesday. The county has 3,492 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The active and confirmed case totals don't include 149 cases awaiting admission. These are cases that haven't been placed into isolation. The health department has said that it can take a day or two after a positive test result for people to be contacted and formally placed into mandatory isolation.

Hospitalizations remain unchanged. There are 41 COVID-19 patients in Auburn Community Hospital.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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