Two residents at The Commons at Lincoln have died of Covid-19 and the town’s total number of cases has risen to 16, Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean reported on Tuesday.
Lincoln has the lowest number of cases compare to surrounding towns. Lexington has the most with 151 (see table below).
“The other towns I cover are really amping up, and I’m guessing that Lincoln will continue to have more and more cases,” said McGean, who is also the public health nurse for Concord and Carlisle and performs some public health functions for Maynard as well.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of social distancing,” she added. Anyone who needs help with food or medication delivery can contact the Lincoln Board of Health (781-259-2614 or carrolle@lincolntown.org) or Council on Aging director Carolyn Bottum (781-259-8811 or bottumc@lincolntown.org).
The Commons, like other senior housing and care facilities, is vulnerable to clusters of illness because of the age and physical proximity of its residents. “The situation has been escalating over the last week,” McGean noted. The facility is “exploring, among other options,” the idea of creating a Covid-19 isolation unit, said a spokesperson for Benchmark Senior Living, which owns The Commons along with 34 facilities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Many staff members at The Commons also work at other Benchmark facilities. Thirteen employees who work at The Commons have tested positive so far, the spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.
“We are working closely with agencies to limit their staff interactions in other buildings. All associates, whether they are a full-time Benchmark Senior Living associate or a temporary agency worker, are screened and protected in exactly the same way in accordance with CDC guidelines,” the spokesperson said. The company outlined its precautionary measures on its coronavirus web page.
The Board of Health has strongly recommended that the facility test all residents and staff (a total of about 500 people) for Covid-19. “The best way to control this is to know who’s infected as early as possible and isolate them,” Lincoln Board of Health member Patricia Miller said.
The problem is the limited availability of tests. The board recommended that The Commons reach out to the National Guard, which is providing free on-site testing for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities (though not independent living units), but they’re backed up by at least one to two weeks, Miller said.
The facility is also looking into the possibility of having testing done through Mt. Auburn Hospital. Benchmark Senior Living, which owns The Commons, can do testing, but there’s a long turnaround time to get results back from labs in another state, Miller said.
The Board of Health hasn’t officially ordered testing at The Commons only because it wouldn’t make any difference. “They want to get everyone tested as well — they want to do the right thing in this situation,” Miller said, referring to management at The Commons. “All these facilities are vying for the same resources. There’s just not enough to go around because we’re in the peak of this.”
The Benchmark spokesperson would not confirm testing plans except to say that they are “proactively looking at all options to test our staff and residents.”
Staff members are leaving dinner and breakfast for the following day at residents’ doors each evening, based on what they ordered from a menu, according to two residents. They also shop for groceries requested by residents and call them every day to check on their health and answer questions. No one (even those in independent living cottages and apartments) may have outside visitors, and residents are discouraged from visiting each other.
“The Commons has done a marvelous job. They’re working as hard as they can to keep us safe,” said resident David Levington.
Covid-19 cases in Lincoln and surrounding towns
(Note that towns post data on different days)
| Town | Total cases | Date | Population (2010) | Cases as % of 2010 pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | 151 | 4/15/20 | 33,480 | 0.45% |
| Weston | 65 | 4/13/20 | 12,067 | 0.54% |
| Bedford* | 64 | 4/15/20 | 14,126 | 0.45% |
| Sudbury | 49 | 4/13/20 | 18,940 | 0.26% |
| Wayland | 26 | 4/10/20 | 13,720 | 0.19% |
| Concord | 22 | 4/13/20 | 19,323 | 0.11% |
| Lincoln | 16 | 4/12/20 | 6,726 | 0.24% |
* Includes Hanscom Air Force Base
It is simply criminal that our federal government did not have testing ready to go on a massive basis before the infections started ramping up. Other countries were ready to go. With all our technical capability, there is simply no excuse.
I feel incredibly fortunate to be living in Lincoln during this nightmare – If only our COA had been running the country when Covid-19 broke out, we would surely be in a much better place now! And I am overwhelmed with the task Nurse Tricia McGean has, working with Concord and Carlisle as well as Lincoln, and even some with Maynard, too! Take care of yourself, Guardian Angel, and let us know if we can help…
With my deepest gratitude – *and love*,
Toby Frost
So true. And this is a Federal Govt. responsibility, shouldn’t be laid on the states. Can’t wait to vote those soulless creeps out of office — wish we could get rid of them sooner.