Coronavirus: Quarter of Seattle Life Care Centre's staff test positive for virus, officials reveal
Facility seen more US deaths than any other location
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A quarter of the staff at Seattle’s Life Care Centre – which has seen the bulk of coronavirus deaths in the US – have tested positive for the disease, health officials have revealed.
The centre, located in the suburb of Kirkland, has seen at least 27 deaths.
On Saturday, as the national death toll reached 57 and the number of infections passed 2,500, officials in Washington’s King County, which includes Seattle, revealed the toll on staff and carers at the centre.
The King County health department said of 95 of the 180 staff at the centre who had shown symptoms, 47 had tested positive for the virus, 24 tested negative, 1 had tested inconclusively and the results for 5 people were pending.
It said, another 15 of the staff had undergone testing on Saturday.
The original number of residents being cared for at the centre before the crisis struck was around 120. Since then, 66 have been transferred to hospitals. At least 27 have died.
“First responders, medical, and care staff county-wide, including those at Life Care Centre are encouraged to actively monitor themselves for symptoms per CDC guidelines,” the department said.
With three more deaths in Washington state and the first reported deaths in Louisiana and Virginia, 57 Americans have now died because of coronavirus.
Two deaths in New York and two deaths in Florida were reported also on Saturday.
Globally, there are at least 155,423 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 5,800 deaths, ABC News said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments