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Coronavirus cases move over 1,000 in Erie County, as infections hit Father Baker Manor

The coronavirus pandemic has hit an Orchard Park nursing home and rehabilitation facility. 

The Catholic Health System released a statement Saturday indicating a number of residents and rehab patients at Father Baker Manor have tested positive for COVID 19. All staff and residents are now being tested.

As of Sunday, 39 residents out of the 130 total have been found to be positive for the virus.

 

Erie County Executive Poloncarz said Albany has stepped in to try to clean up the situation, rather than the county health department. 

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"Catholic Health has designated a certain team to address it, as well as the New York State Department of Health. They are monitoring it. If individuals require further hospitalization, they will be taken out of Father Baker Manor and put into a hospital setting. I would imagine that they would end up going to St. Joseph's Hospital, which is a COVID-19 hospital that has been created by Catholic Health," Poloncarz said.

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The system's infectious control team says it has taken "swift action" to stop its spread. All group activities have been canceled and rehab services are on hold. All rehab patients and long-term residents are continuously being monitored for symptoms.

The number of coronavirus cases in Erie County reached over 1,000 on Sunday and the death toll has now risen to 27. 

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.