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13 soldiers’ home residents have died

By ASSOCIATED PRESS - | Apr 1, 2020

BOSTON (AP) — The number of residents of a Massachusetts veterans home who have recently died is now 13, and six of those tested positive for the coronavirus, state authorities said Tuesday.

Test results for five other Holyoke Soldiers’ Home residents who have died are pending, one tested negative and the cause of one death remains unknown, according to state health officials.

Ten other residents and seven employees have tested positive for the virus, and tests for 25 other residents are pending.

“As someone who has visited this amazing place on multiple occasions, and found it to be a source of joy and grace and comfort and kindness for the residents, their families and the staff that works there, this episode is a gut-wrenching loss that is nothing short of devastating,” Gov. Charlie Baker said, promising to get to the bottom of what happened.

The superintendent of the home has been placed on administrative leave and a new clinical command structure is in place. Medically trained National Guard personnel are testing all residents and staff.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said Tuesday that the first deaths occurred last Wednesday, but officials at the home failed to disclose the deaths until Sunday. Morse said he’d called Bennett Walsh, the facility’s then-superintendent, directly after receiving an anonymous complaint.

“I was incredibly disappointed,” Morse said. “There was a clear lack of urgency and we were repeatedly told that these were folks with underlying health conditions. That’s certainly not an excuse for not isolating the folks that did test positive.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This content is being provided for free as a public service to our community during the coronavirus outbreak. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Telegraph at https://home.nashuatelegraph.com/clickshare/checkDelivery.do;jsessionid=40C089D96583CD7318C1C1D9317B6162.

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