MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Family members are calling for the evacuation of a nursing home in Milford after nearly half of its residents test positive for COVID-19.
This is exactly what you don’t want – a hot spot for coronavirus right where some of the most vulnerable people are living. That’s exactly what they’re facing at the Golden Hill Rehab Center.
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Lou Jackson says his wife, Barbara, started showing symptoms of coronavirus and tested positive after only five days at Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion following a routine hip surgery on March 20. She’s now on a ventilator at Bridgeport Hospital. He says the state must act now to save lives.
“Golden Hill is a death trap,” said a furious Jackson
When News 8 asked if Jackson believed his wife had contracted the virus at Golden Hill, he said “Yes.”
News 8 pressed Governor Lamont on the cluster of cases at Golden Hill on Friday. The State Epidemiologist Matthew Cartter told us the state was not sharing details on specific nursing homes. But our reporters confirmed 44 patients–nearly half of the residents there–have tested positive for COVID-19. As of Friday, 7 were hospitalized.
Jackson says on the same day Barbara went on the ventilator, he was told another patient died from the virus.
The Department of Public Health would not confirm the fatality, though they did deploy teams to the facility last week and said they were continuing to investigate the outbreak.
Jackson says, the state needs to take action immediately.
“I would have the state go over there with 50 ambulances and get everyone out of there before everyone is dead. You’ve got to close it down right away just for safety. You just can’t let those people lie there,” he explained.
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For now, Jackson says nurses at Bridgeport Hospital help him FaceTime with Barbara. She’s sedated and unconscious, but Jackson hopes she can hear him.
“Of course I told her I love her,” Jackson said.
News 8 has reached out to Golden Hill for comment. We have not yet heard back.
The Department of Public Health says the source of the outbreak is still under investigation.
