After the first detected contamination, all protocols were immediately put into operation, says a spokesman for the house. ‘We immediately followed all RIVM protocols and quarantined the departments where an infection had occurred. But although we were there fairly quickly, we could not prevent this. ‘
In total, eight residents were infected, of which six have died. The individuals who died were all well into their nineties and all had underlying suffering. It is very sad, but unfortunately those people are vulnerable and it is difficult to do something about it. ‘
Not in isolation
Mariënpark does not yet know how the virus entered the nursing home. ‘We have no idea yet how the outbreak could have started, and I don’t know whether this will be investigated further. After all, we did everything we had to do and followed all the guidelines of the RIVM, ‘says Polderman.
To get the virus under control, the departments with infected people have been quarantined, Polderman explains. ‘The impact this has is terrible. People who are suddenly no longer allowed to receive visitors. We have closed off part of the building and have furnished two living rooms here so that they do not have to sit in their room all day. We have also arranged video calling here, so that they can keep in touch with their families as much as possible and not end up in isolation. ‘
No contact
At the nursing home, two visitors bring the laundry of one of the residents of a corona-affected ward. Fortunately my mother doesn’t have it, they say about the 95-year-old woman. ‘It was her birthday last week, but unfortunately we were unable to celebrate it, although we would of course have liked to. We hand over the laundry, but are not allowed to have any contact to make sure we cannot get or transmit the virus. ‘
Despite the fact that they cannot celebrate the birthday, the visitors are very pleased with how Mariënpark deals with the situation. ‘We are kept informed about everything and can have contact online.’
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