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Here’s an example of how hard it is to get information on COVID-19 at senior-care faciltiies. This week I’ve been trying to track a number of cases at Drake Terrace, a large assisted living facility in Marin County, with 225 residents and staff. 1/x
On March 27, a Drake Terrace resident tested positive for the coronavirus and was hospitalized. Three days later, on March 30, the resident died in the hospital. But the facility did not disclose the death to the media or families. 2/x
In a letter on March 31, the day after the death, the director wrote to families w/ an update. By that point a staffer had tested positive too. The director said the resident w/ COVID-19 “will not be returning to the community.” Did not mention the reason: Resident was dead. 3/x
Over the next week, more residents and another staffer at Drake Terrace tested positive for the new coronavirus. On April 8 a spokesperson disclosed, to me, that they had 7 active cases. I didn’t know about the death at that point — not until yesterday, April 11. 4/x
So I went back to the spokesperson for the facility’s parent company and said, wait, I’ve been asking you about COVID-19 issues all week and you didn’t tell me this. Why didn’t you tell me that a COVID-19 resident from your facility died? 5/x
Here was the spokesperson’s answer:
“We were just trying to report the active cases, and at that point, that wasn't an active case. If they're no longer living, it's not technically an active case.” 6/x
“We were just trying to report the active cases, and at that point, that wasn't an active case. If they're no longer living, it's not technically an active case.” 6/x
There wasn’t an obvious way to learn about the death through the county health Dept, either. Marin County is one of the Bay Area counties that isn’t releasing data on nursing homes and senior-care facilities with COVID-19 cases. I still don’t know who the person is who died. 7/x
If you know who the person is, please let me know. I’d like to reach out to their family. And please read our Sunday story today about Bay Area long-term-care facilities, the virus, and secrecy — reported & written with @TrishaThadani and @cdizikes. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Families-left-in-dark-as-coronavirus-races-15191179.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral 8/8
