An elderly Princeton Care Center resident has become the third resident to die of COVID-19 at the long term care facility, the Princeton Health Department announced April 17.
The man, who was in his 80s, is the fourth Princeton resident to die of COVID-19, officials said. The first recorded death was a 92-year-old woman who may have been exposed to the disease by a home health aide.
At the Princeton Care Center on Bunn Drive, the first resident to die was a man in his 80s who had underlying health issues, officials said. The second man, whose death was announced April 13, was 94 years old.
The three men were among five residents at the Princeton Care Center who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the Princeton Health Department said.
The plan at the Princeton Care Center is to isolate patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those who are symptomatic in a separate wing at the nursing home. Staff members who have had contact with them have been placed in quarantine for 14 days. Symptoms usually develop within two to five days of exposure.
The Princeton Care Center is monitoring the vital signs of all residents and staff daily. Spread of the disease by asymptomatic persons has not been ruled out, so the Princeton Health Department is working with the nursing home to have all staff tested for COVID-19, officials said.
The four Princeton residents are among 3,840 New Jerseyans to have died of COVID-19 as of April 17, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. They are among the 78,467 New Jersey residents who had tested positive for the disease as of April 17.
Of the 3,840 residents who have died of COVID-19 as of April 17, residents of nursing homes or long term care facilities accounted for 1,530 deaths, the New Jersey Department of Health reported.
The tally includes 38 deaths in 19 nursing homes in Mercer County, officials said. There have been 344 nursing home or long term care residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Statewide, there have been 9,094 positive cases of COVID-19 in 384 long term care facilities in New Jersey as of April 17, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.