Two of the nursing homes worst hit by coronavirus appealed directly to then minister for health Simon Harris for help as they fought severe Covid-19 outbreaks in March and April. The private homes – Tara Winthrop in Swords, Co Dublin and Dealgan House in Dundalk, Co Louth – struggled to cope with outbreaks prompting them to make desperate, late-night pleas for help. Newly released emails show the depth of the crisis in some nursing homes, the sector most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic accounting for 985 or 56 per cent of the 1,738 Covid-19 deaths. In addition to the extra staff, Mr O’Donovan appealed for personal protective equipment (PPE), the results of swab tests, swabs for further tests and “one single contact in public health”. “In our nursing home, people are dying and we are struggling terribly with staff absences.

Source: The Irish Times July 08, 2020 23:54 UTC