UPDATED: Thanks For Your Service!

Scores of veterans killed in 'horrific' coronavirus outbreak at Massachusetts elder care facility

Count on it: The dying isn't over with at this facility. The account below gives a graphic picture of what is undoubtedly happening in many places. Meanwhile, Blue State governors whine about ventilators and Trump, trying to shift responsibility and blame.

I don't mean to be flip. I understand there are tough issues facing our society, lying ahead. The issues we've avoided facing for several generations. Surely a society that gives its veterans lip service rather than care is in decline. Ours is a society that has relied on voluntary service in many ways--not just in a military sense. Increasingly we've become a society where it's, Hey, look out for yourself--let the government take care of the rest. We're getting a glimpse of the results with the pandemic, but for anyone who has eyes to see we also see the results in other areas of life, starting with and education system that doesn't educate but only propagandizes.

The coronavirus has killed at least 80 veterans at an elder care facility in Massachusetts, in what's being described as the deadliest known outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S. 

An additional 82 veterans and 81 employees have tested positive for the virus at Holyoke Soldiers' Home, and federal officials are trying to determine whether residents were denied proper medical care as deaths continue to climb. 

“It’s horrific,” said Edward Lapointe, whose father-in-law lives at the home and had a mild case of the virus. “These guys never had a chance.” 

The outbreak has now claimed the lives of nearly one-third of all residents at the veterans' home, with a new fatality being reported almost every day.

With limited staffing, workers were forced to routinely travel to other units in order to provide help, which caused the virus to spread at an extremely high rate, according to Joan Miller, a nurse at the home. Some workers were without proper personal protective equipment, the Boston Globe reported. 

She added that an entire unit was forced to shut down because it didn't have enough employees to run it, forcing veterans into close proximity with those uninfected. 

"Veterans were on top of each other. We didn’t know who was positive and who was negative and then they grouped people together and that really exacerbated it even more,” said Miller. “That’s when it really blew up." 

Many of the veterans were at an age that made them susceptible to severe illness from the virus. Before the outbreak, about one-third of residents were 90 or older and needed round-the-clock care, the paper reported.

UPDATE: Closer to home--my home, anyway ...

10 Die From COVID-19 At Cicero Nursing Home, Including Employee

Once again, you can count on more deaths to come from this. Illinois' fat ass Gov. Pritzker--from the Pritzker family that funded Obama's ascent to the White House--is one of the Blue State governors who's been trying to blame Trump:

More than 200 residents and staff of a Cicero nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19, while 10 of them — including one staff member — have died from the disease, city officials announced Tuesday. 

At least 163 residents and 41 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at City View Multicare Center, 5825 W. Cermak Rd., according to the results released Tuesday afternoon by city spokesman Ray Hanania. 

The deaths at the nearly 500-bed facility include nine residents and one employee who died in the last two days, Hanania said. The test results come after state health officials mandated last week that the City View test every resident and member of the facility. Test results are still pending for 39 staff members. 

Cicero officials have complained about City View’s health safety record, and hope the facility improves works to improve the safety of its residents.

As I recounted yesterday, the first outbreak in this area I heard about--probably at the beginning of March--was at a nursing home. At that time I told my wife I was sure they'd be prioritizing testing at medical facilities. While Pritzker whined about useless ventilators, what happened to the testing?

Look to the Florida model.