10 deaths at Portland nursing home as Oregon virus death toll reaches 51

(Update: Adding info on latest deaths, county breakdown)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ten residents of a nursing home in Portland have died in Oregon’s largest known cluster of deaths from the coronavirus.

The deaths at Healthcare at Foster Creek account for nearly 1 in 5 coronavirus deaths in Oregon, The Oregonian reported.

Information released Friday by the Oregon Department of Human Services confirmed the deaths reported by two employees of the nursing home, nurse Morgen Crumpacker and nursing assistant Alyssa Talimao.

About 20 residents of Foster Creek have been diagnosed with the virus or are showing symptoms, Crumpacker and Talimao said.

Meanwhile, the nursing home has had far fewer employees than usual, they said, with many calling in sick or staying home to avoid infecting their families.

Foster Creek needs more help to fight the outbreak and protect residents and employees, they said.

“All of us are motivated and working to keep these patients alive,” Talimao said. “And they keep dying.”

An owner of the company that manages the nursing home, Benicia Senior Living of Oregon, didn’t respond to email and phone calls for comment.

As of Saturday, 51 people in Oregon had died of the coronavirus, with three new reports since Friday, and 1,447 had tested positive for the virus, according to authorities. Another 27,191 have tested negative for COVID-19.

The new COVID-19 cases reported Saturday are in the following counties: Benton (1), Clackamas (5), Coos (1), Deschutes (2, for a total of 53), Klamath (1), Lane (1), Linn (2), Malheur (1), Marion (17), Multnomah (26), Polk (1), Umatilla (3), Union (1), Wasco (2), Washington (10), and Yamhill (2). To see more case and county-level data, Oregon Health updates its website once a day: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus.

Oregon’s 49th COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old woman in Yamhill County, who tested positive on March 31, 2020, and died on April 8, 2020 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 50th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old woman in Multnomah County, who tested positive on April 9, 2020, and died on April 10, 2020 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 51st COVID-19 case is an 81-year-old man in Josephine County, who tested positive on March 27, 2020, and died on April 10, 2020 at Rogue Regional Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

The Oregon Office of Emergency Managements daily update for Saturday is available here.

Most people with the virus experience mild or moderate fever and coughing for two to three weeks. Some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, can face severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

Three other senior communities in Oregon also have had major outbreaks.

Laurelhurst Village in Portland has reported the deaths of five residents and positive cases among 57 staff members and residents.

The state veterans home in Lebanon has reported the deaths of three residents and 21 cases among residents.

Seven residents and six employees at Marquis Marian Estates have fallen ill with the coronavirus, but nobody there has died, officials at the nursing home in Sublimity said.