‘Worst fear’ realised as COVID-19 hits second Cape care facility

TALI FEINBERG

Glendale Home for the intellectually disabled has 50 residents, 20 of which have tested positive for COVID-19. “An outbreak of COVID-19 at a Jewish communal facility like Glendale has always been the community’s worst fear, with the profile of resident and medical complications that exist,” says Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies Chairperson Rael Kaimowitz.

“However, an outbreak of this nature is inevitable, and the focus should be on the pre-planning that was done many months ago to prepare for the inevitable outbreak. I want to applaud the efforts of Chairperson Judith Cohen and Director Shelley Korn for their professionalism, efficiency, and urgency in activating those plans so effectively. We have every confidence that this outbreak will be managed in the best way possible, and we offer all assistance and resources of the community to help in any way.”

Twenty-five residents have tested negative. Two residents’ results are still outstanding. Three residents have been with their families since the beginning of lockdown, and aren’t affected. Nine staff members have also tested positive. Twenty staff members have tested negative.

“Getting the call that my son had tested positive was terrifying,” says the parent of a resident. “I always feared that this day would come, even though the home has done everything it can to protect residents.”

He says his son, who is almost 50, doesn’t understand what’s happening, but is asymptomatic and happy to be confined to his room. “I haven’t seen him in person since March. It’s very hard. I’m also deeply concerned for his carer who is asthmatic, and who tested positive. She is doing fine, but has taken such risks to care for my son.”

The home discovered its first case on Saturday, 6 June, “when the home received results indicating that one resident and one staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. During the course of the day, another two residents began displaying symptoms,” said Cohen, in a letter to the community.

The home immediately moved from unit lockdown, in which the residents are divided into small groups, to room lockdown, in which they are confined to their rooms.

“After Shabbos on 6 June, an emergency Zoom meeting was held for families. Assistance was received from Highlands House, and together, it was arranged for COVID-19 testing kits to be delivered overnight. A team of eight doctors, headed by Dr Leon Geffen, entered the home on Sunday morning just after 07:30 to test all residents and staff on the premises. During the course of Monday 8 June, test results started coming in, and residents and their families were informed.”

Cohen told the SA Jewish Report, “We have been preparing for this for three months. The home has been in total lockdown since 12 March. Education programmes [about the virus] for staff and residents have been conducted during this time. Staff members have made major sacrifices, with some living on the premises and not leaving since the home’s lockdown began.

“The home has also been transporting other staff to their homes, meaning that they have to leave home earlier and get back later. Staff that can be separated from residents have been kept completely apart from them, such as cooking and laundry staff.

“Many staff members have been here for decades and the residents are like their children. They work 12-hour shifts, and have been using full PPE [personal protective gear] for weeks now, including gowns, aprons, medical masks, and face shields.” Monitoring at the gate is extremely strict. Yet the virus still found a way in.

“We planned as if it would happen, but hoped it wouldn’t. We have had six scares when it was suspected, so we have had six drills to prepare residents. But nothing can prepare you emotionally for when it really happens,” says Cohen.

She says most residents are between the ages of 40-70, with at least half over the age of 55. Only a handful are showing symptoms, and one is on oxygen. Many have serious co-morbidities, from heart disease to blindness to diabetes. “Their bodies are ‘older’ than their ages,” she says.

There are other major challenges. For example, it’s difficult to enforce the wearing of masks. Many residents are non-verbal and can’t communicate that they aren’t feeling well, and are therefore being monitored closely.

A doctor has been visiting regularly since the outbreak, and there is another doctor as well as the Community Security Organisation on call 24/7. There are nurses on site 24/7. Some residents don’t have families, and some have elderly parents. Therefore, the home is the only place they can be. She says most residents do understand that there is a virus that’s harmful to them and they now need to stay in their rooms to be safe.

Seeing doctors don full “hazmat” suits before entering the premises was a mind-boggling moment for Cohen. “It was what we saw in Wuhan, and now it’s here.” She was amazed that eight doctors – not all of them Jewish – volunteered to come to the home early on a Sunday winter’s morning to test residents. “This community really blows you away. These doctors all put their hands up, and said, ‘We’ll be there.’”

The community can help in a number of ways. First, support the families of residents; second, provide financial assistance to cover the costs of doctors, PPE, tests, oxygen, and families who are struggling to pay fees; and third, follow the home on social media to show support and keep up to date. Glendale wants to be as transparent as possible, and will keep the community informed, Cohen says.