Essenwood pensioners beat Covid-19

THREE pensioners living at Essenwood Residence in Musgrave left quarantine at the home on Monday morning after beating the dreaded Coronavirus.

The women, Mary Rolando (83), Moira Fowler (85) and Emily Barnard (98), were cheered on by staff as they left quarantine, after spending weeks apart from other residents.

Mary and Moira spent more than two weeks, and Emily spent the mandatory 10 days, in quarantine after testing positive for the virus.

Matron, Colleen Dempers, said everyone at the home had been scared and anxious about the virus.

“During lockdown, none of the residents had been out, which has been very tough for them as they have missed their families a lot. We have been letting residents have ‘gate visits’ with family. We had been dreading cases at the home and have been screening residents twice a day. It was during one of these sessions that we found one of the residents had a high temperature” she said.

VIDEO: 3 Essenwood pensioners walk away from Covid-19 quarantine, virus free

The woman was immediately quarantined. Colleen said the house had been zoned to limit movement, and all residents in the woman’s zone had been tested.

Another two cases had been picked up.

They were also quarantined, and the staff working in this zone had been tested.

“Staff were fearing the worst after the first case, however the women pulled through and it has been so encouraging for the staff and residents. South African grannies are strong! These women were tough and determined to get better and only needed TLC during their illness, although we were prepared to offer oxygen if needed. It took us by surprise how well they recovered,” she said.

Colleen said she felt they have done everything right at the home, they were up to date with guidelines, and were doing all they could to prevent infections.

She said she and the staff feel more confident after handling these cases.

“Now that we have weathered this first storm, we feel a bit more confident. It’s nice to celebrate these small victories at a time such as this, and we wanted to celebrate with staff and family today, that these ladies have recovered,” she said.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

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