Tennessee nursing home has 19 patients with virus symptoms
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee nursing home has moved 19 patients to a local hospital after some tested positive for COVID-19.
Sumner County Emergency Medical Services Chief Greg Miller said at a news conference Friday evening that some of the patients were positive for the disease while others were showing symptoms but still awaiting test results. Miller said the numbers could increase.
The patients were all being taken to the Sumner County Regional Medical Center where CEO Susan Peach said doctors have already been seeing patients with COVID-19. The hospital's critical care team has been working steadily to expand the facility's capacity to treat additional patients, Peach said.
Earlier in the week, the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing said an employee had tested positive for COVID-19. Tennessee Health Department spokeswoman Shelley Walker has said the facility is cooperating with the department and has put in place “aggressive” infection control measures.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks, and the majority of people recover. But severe cases can need respirators to survive, and with infections spreading exponentially, hospitals across the country are either bracing for a coming wave of patients, or already struggling to keep up.
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