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Three dozen medics from the National Guard are set to deploy to a veterans home in New Jersey this week as the coronavirus is being blamed for the deaths of at least 10 residents – and may be linked to 27 more, a report says.
The rising death toll at the facility in Paramus over the past two weeks comes as six of its residents have been hospitalized and 70 are said to be ill, while dozens of staff have tested positive for the coronavirus or are awaiting test results, NorthJersey.com reported, citing sources.
“Families of our residents at the homes should know we’re doing everything we possibly can to keep the residents safe,” Kryn Westhoven, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs -- which runs the Paramus veterans home and two others in the state -- told the website.
The New Jersey Veterans Home in Paramus has seen a sharp uptick in deaths over the past two weeks, a report says. (New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs)
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The Paramus facility currently has 336 beds, but only 285 occupants. It stopped admissions of new residents on March 23 to ensure it had enough space to isolate coronavirus patients, Westhoven added.
Sources there told NorthJersey.com that three residents die at the Paramus facility each week on average, but since April 1, there have been 30 deaths.
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And at least 10 of those who have died have tested positive for COVID-19, Westhoven says.
“Our population is old. Many have respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” he said. “There could be many reasons they died.”
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As of Thursday, the state of New Jersey has 47,437 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,504 deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
Ten percent of those deaths reportedly have been residents of long-term care facilities in New Jersey.
