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'Makeshift Morgue' at New Jersey Nursing Home Sparks Broader Coronavirus
Probe

Reuters

   New Jersey's governor on Thursday ordered a probe into long-term care
   facilities after a "makeshift morgue" was found at a nursing home
   devastated by the novel coronavirus, raising questions about the death
   toll at homes for the elderly.

   Phil Murphy said he asked his attorney general to launch the
   wide-ranging investigation after becoming "outraged that bodies of the
   dead were allowed to pile up" in a room at a nursing home in Andover, a
   town in the northern part of the state.

   The probe comes as officials across the United States grapple with
   mounting deaths at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities,
   where the virus can spread like wildfire and has proven especially
   deadly given the age of the residents, who are often living close
   together and cared for by the same staff.

   "You have people who by definition are medically fragile and at risk
   and you add to that this terrible virus," said Laurie Facciarossa
   Brewer, the New Jersey state ombudsman for long-term care facilities.
   "It's hitting crisis proportions now."

   The incident that sparked the investigation occurred at Andover
   Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II, where several bodies were
   found in a makeshift morgue at the facility. A total of 66 residents of
   the nursing home have died, half of whom were confirmed COVID-19 cases,
   according to a spokeswoman for New Jersey's health department.

   "The backup and after hours holiday weekend issues, plus more than
   average deaths, contributed to the presence of more deceased than
   normal in the facility holding room," facility co-owner Chaim Sheinbaum
   said in a statement provided by the Andover police department.

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