There are nearly 100 people in a senior living home near Newark, New Jersey, and it’s believed all of them have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
The residents of St. Joseph’s Senior Home in Woodbridge desperately need our prayers. According to a report from NBC News, at least 24 of the facility’s 94 members have tested positive for the virus, COVID-19. The center’s remaining 70 occupants are believed to be infected as well.
John Hagerty, a spokesperson for the city of Woodbridge, told NBC News the first positive test result came back March 17. And “everyday thereafter,” at least one more positive has come back, he said.
Though every resident has not yet been tested, and every result has not yet returned, the senior living center is preparing for a worst-case scenario. In an effort to blunt the effects of the virus, Hagerty said, the facility’s leaders are operating under the presumption that “all have been exposed and would be positive.”
In addition to the residents, the staff need our prayers, too. Several St. Joseph workers, including a nun who serves at the home, have tested positive for the coronavirus. That reality — the fact that health care workers are falling ill to the virus — is causing staffing shortages all around the country.
All of the patients and residents at St. Joseph have been relocated to CareOne in Hanover, about 30 miles away. And to make room for the incoming people, CareOne workers have to move all 61 of their patients according to a plan developed by New Jersey health officials.
Thirty were moved to a CareOne facility in Morristown, 20 to Parsippany, seven to Livingston, and one was hospitalized for an issue unrelated to the coronavirus.
Thankfully, a representative for the CareOne network said, the families of relocated residents “were understanding.”
“Certainly it was an inconvenience,” the company representative explained, “but this is a national health emergency.”