Bellingham nursing home reports death of eighth resident linked to coronavirus
Shuksan Healthcare Center reported that a long-term care resident at the facility who was in their 90s and had tested positive for COVID-19 died Tuesday, April 7.
“The entire staff shares in grief with their family and will be keeping them in our thoughts as we go forward,” Shuksan said in a release Wednesday.
The resident’s death is the eighth since the Whatcom County Health Department on March 22 announced an outbreak of new coronavirus at the Bellingham nursing home. A ninth person, who was formerly a resident at Shuksan, died at home 10 days after they were released, and a test that came back a day after their death positive for COVID-19.
Overall, 54 people associated with the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 — 31 residents and 23 employees. The facility also reported Monday that, after consulting with the Shuksan medical director and the health department, it admitted one new resident who previously tested positive for COVID-19.
That means the facility now has 26 residents who have tested positive for the respiratory illness, according to a release Monday. Shuksan also is housing two residents who have tested negative for COVID-19, one who refused to be tested and one who had an inconclusive test result.
The health department on Wednesday reported one new death of a county resident that tested positive for COVID-19 and three more residents had tested positive, bringing the county’s totals to 20 deaths and 241 positive tests.
It is unclear at this time if either Tuesday’s death at Shuksan or one reported by Lynden Manor were included in the health department’s most recent numbers, as details on the most recent death reported by the health department have not yet been released.
