Nursing Home Resident Dies of COVID-19

Victoria Manor in Lower Township announced Tuesday that an 86-year-old male resident with significant underlying health conditions who was recently hospitalized died of COVID-19. In addition, the Cape May County Health Department confirmed that 15 residents and 12 staff members at the Victoria Manor long-term care facility also tested positive for the coronavirus. “We are deeply saddened today to learn that a fellow Cape May County resident died from COVID-19,” County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton said. “Our deepest condolences and prayers to the family and loved ones during their time of mourning. The County remains vigilant in our efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and will continue to do all we can to protect our most vulnerable populations.” Genesis HealthCare, which operates Victoria Manor and other nursing homes and senior living facilities across the South Jersey and Delaware area, has been working closely with the Cape May County Department of Health and New Jersey State Health Department to contain the spread of this disease by strictly following infectious disease guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a county press release. “A death in Cape May County shows the gravity of the situation,” Freeholder Jeff Pierson said. “It’s critically important for us all to take actions that will help protect our most vulnerable citizens. By working together, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 and help ensure the health care system will be able to care for those who need it most.” Protective guidelines include both isolation and quarantine protocols. “When a nursing home facility has an outbreak, regardless if it is flu, norovirus or COVID-19, Cape May County Health Department immediately begins the investigation process to follow the communicable disease exposure of others, and will instruct the facility administrators to monitor or isolate those individuals until they are no longer contagious,” County Health Officer Kevin Thomas said. There are at least 50,558 positive cases of the novel coronavirus in New Jersey and 1,232 deaths. Currently, Cape May County has 100 positive cases and two deaths. Following is a breakdown of confirmed coronavirus cases for each municipality in Cape May County:

MUNICIPALITY	ACTIVE CASES	OFF QUARANTINE	DEATHS
AVALON	4	2
CAPE MAY CITY	1	2
CAPE MAY POINT	0
DENNIS TOWNSHIP	5
LOWER TOWNSHIP	32	2	1
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP	14	3
NORTH WILDWOOD	2	1
OCEAN CITY	5	2
SEA ISLE CITY	0	1
STONE HARBOR	0
UPPER TOWNSHIP	6	1	1
WEST CAPE MAY	1
WEST WILDWOOD	1
WILDWOOD	7	1
WILDWOOD CREST	5
WOODBINE	0
TOTAL ACTIVE	83
TOTAL RECOVERED		15
TOTAL DECEASED			2
TOTAL CASES IN CAPE MAY COUNTY	100

For more information, call the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System hotline at 211 or 1-800-962-1253 or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov, the World Health Organization at www.who.int and the New Jersey Department of Health at COVID19.nj.gov. For additional information, visit the Cape May County Department of Health at www.cmchealth.net and also on Facebook.