The Jaffrey Rehabilitation Center in Jaffrey is undergoing a COVID-19 outbreak. The facility recently reported that only 70 percent of its staff are vaccinated, one of the lowest percentages at any facility in the state.
The Jaffrey Rehabilitation Center in Jaffrey is undergoing a COVID-19 outbreak. The facility recently reported that only 70 percent of its staff are vaccinated, one of the lowest percentages at any facility in the state. Credit: Staff photo by Ben Conant

Several area nursing homes have reported additional COVID-19 cases to the state, amid ongoing outbreaks at the facilities, according to a news release last week from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

The largest outbreak is at Jaffrey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, with 33 residents and 11 staff members testing positive for the viral disease, the release says. Last week, the facility had 26 resident and seven staff cases. It is unclear when the outbreak began, but the state has had the 20 Plantation Drive facility on its list of outbreaks since Dec. 8. Officials with the nursing home have not responded to multiple requests since then for clarity.

Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland has eight resident cases and 10 staff cases, according to the state data.

However, these numbers aren’t necessarily comprehensive. The state data often lags behind the totals reported from the facilities themselves.

In a separate news release from the county-owned facility Wednesday, County Administrator Chris Coates announced five employees tested positive for COVID-19 that day. Last week, he confirmed that 14 staff members had been infected since the outbreak began Nov. 2.

Coates did not provide further clarity on the case numbers.

Keene Center — owned by Genesis Healthcare, a Pennsylvania-based company that owns several local nursing homes — has two resident cases and five staff cases, the release says. This is the same total the state reported last week, when the facility first was identified as having an outbreak.

Company spokeswoman Lori Mayer said the outbreak began on Dec. 9, and that three residents and seven employees have tested positive in total.

Nearly all of the residents at each facility are fully vaccinated, while employee inoculation rates range between 75 and 99 percent, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Breakthrough cases of the viral disease can and do occur. However, those who are vaccinated often have less-severe symptoms and are at less of a risk of developing complications than those who aren’t inoculated.

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