Nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country are on lockdown in an attempt to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Residents are not allowed to venture out, and family members are not allowed to come in.
“Some of them are upset because they want to go out into the community. And we have to tell them, ‘No, you don't want to be the one that comes back with the coronavirus,’ ” says Joan Sherman, the facility director of Wood Glen Hall, a retirement home in Santa Barbara.
Many of the residents are in their 90s and 100s.
“We can't take any chances with these people,” she says. “I mean, if we get one coronavirus in here, we're probably going to lose a lot of people.”
So far, none of the residents are showing symptoms of the virus, but Sherman says anyone with signs of sickness will be quarantined in their room. Santa Barbara County has prioritized COVID-19 testing for elderly people showing symptoms in retirement homes.