Seven residents of a North Mayo nursing home have died this month, five of whom tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
A number of the 36 residents of the Tí Aire private nursing home in Belmullet are at present being treated for the virus, with one positive case among two residents in hospital at present. Another two residents of the facility also died in hospital this month, but their cause of death has not been confirmed.
Ti Aire Nursing home manager John Tighe has confirmed that all 36 remaining residents at Ti Aire Nursing home in Tallagh Belmullet have been tested for the virus, and staff testing is “ongoing“, with results awaited.
A number of the residents who tested positive for Covid-19, he explained, are doing well in their recovery.
Tí Aire Nursing Home in Belmullet, is one of a number of nursing homes run by the Sonas group which has nursing homes in counties Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Westmeath, Carlow and Tipperary.
In response to a query from Midwest News on Friday last on the situation at the Belmullet facility, Dr Clare Welford, the Quality & Governance Coordinator at the Sonas Support Office stated that “at no point were our staff without sufficient supplies of appropriate PPE. Extensive contingency planning was and is in place and at no point has there been a shortage of staff for the ratio of residents at the facilty. Our homes are sufficiently staffed at all times to cater for the health and welfare of our residents. Our valued Staff have received continuous support, guidance and training throughout this situation and we are very proud of our teams and how they are coping during this challenging time. Staff are very well trained in all infection control measures”.
The statement concluded thanking all staff for “their continued hard work and dedication and commitment during this difficult period”. She also thanked the local community who “have been extremely supportive during this unprecedented pandemic”.
At the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council on Monday last in a statement to councillors, the CEO of the authority Peter Hynes, said “the Covid-19 outbreak in Mayo continues to escalate particularly in residential care facilities. We have new hotspots in the North of the county. This, he said, is a major concern, as is the age profile of our community and the large number of residential care retirement facilities, both public and private, throughout the county”.
At that meeting elected councillors called on the HSE to explain “the high incidents”of Covid -19 confirmed cases in Mayo compared to Galway, with a significantly higher population, and also asked for an explanation from the Saolta group as to why Mayo University Hospital has the highest number of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus among its staff, compared to any other hospital in the region.
This trend is continuing, the figures issued yesterday (Wed) evening by the National Public Health Emergency Team show that there are now 339 confirmed cases of Covid -19 in Mayo, compared to 309 in Galway. There are 97 cases in Sligo and 91in Roscommon.
The national figures revealed yesterday show a sharp increase in the number of nursing home residents across the country who have tested positive for Covid-19.There are now just under 2,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus in nursing homes.
The number of nursing home residents who have died from the coronavirus also rose sharply now standing at 348 people. Another 102 residents of nursing homes are also suspected or presumed to have died from the virus.
At the same time, the good news is that many nursing home residents who have contracted the virus have recovered from it.
