Chicago coronavirus: Symphony South Shore nursing home outbreak sickens 111; 10 dead

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Symphony South Shore nursing home in Chicago has become a coronavirus hot spot, with 111 positive tests out of 158 residents and 10 deaths reported.

The facility is part of the Symphony Care Network, which has faced severe outbreaks at other locations.

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"This will be normal until we have a vaccine," said Dr. Alexander Stemer.

Stemer, an infectious disease expert, was picked to lead Symphony's COVID-19 crisis team. They announced a collaboration with University of Chicago Medicine to test every patient and employee at the South Shore location.

"We're working hard to find supplies for the rest of our facilities and that's something we know is vital, and we're eagerly awaiting," Stemer said.

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The COVID-19 task force is taking aggressive steps to treat patients, some of whom are not exhibiting symptoms, like isolating them from other patients. They have also been treated with hydroxychloroquine.

"We feel very strong that this is key to preventing the spread of infection within skilled nursing facilities," said Stemer.

Symphony Care Network acknowledged the difficulty of keeping family members of residents updated about their conditions, and said they're looking into FaceTime and other methods of making their medical team more accessible to people wondering how their loved ones are doing.

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