May 27, 2020

Dear Residents, Staff, Families and Friends,

Since we have been advised to test all Residents and staff for the Covid-19 virus, last week we began testing Residents in St Joseph’s Unit and Holy Family Unit who were asymptomatic, and have been waiting for the test results. We now anticipate testing Residents in Mary Immaculate and Sacred Heart Units.

To date, we have results for all of the 17 Residents who were tested; 4 have come back positive. Despite these results, we firmly believe they are not contagious. However, we will have to go back to room isolation as required by the Department of Health for the time being.

As of today, this means that Residents in all units will have to stay in their rooms as they did until recently. We will continue to allow families to bring supplies to the Residents by dropping them off at the front door and the receptionist will call the units to have them delivered to them.

All Residents must wear masks if they have to leave their rooms for any reason after being cleared by staff. Contact with loved ones may take place by phone or email/facebook. There is to be no physical contact with family until further notice. We realize this is very difficult for everyone involved, but we need to strictly adhere to these isolation rules, as always, we will continue to serve meals in your rooms. Please let us know if you need anything to make this isolation more bearable.

Procedures for Staff testing will begin June 2020. Eventually all Staff will be tested on a weekly basis. There will be no cost to our staff members; it is being financed by the Department of Health.

We have no way to gauge how long this new isolation order will last, but there are encouraging signs about fewer cases being reported in the State of Delaware.

If we take social distancing seriously and follow the rules given us for infection control, we will shorten the time to stay in isolation. We realize that it is quite a sacrifice to be in isolation, but we hope you will agree it is a small price to pay for the safety of all concerned.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the current situation. Thank you for your support and understanding. And thank you to all those who have helped us with donations of money or much-needed items during this difficult period.

We continue to place our hope and trust in God, confident that He is protecting us and will bring good out of this very trying time.

May God bless you and your family,
Sr. Margaret Regina and all the Little Sisters

Previous Updates:
May 13, 2020
May 11, 2020
April 25, 2020
April 3, 2020
March 27, 2020

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Click here to read a related article from The Dialog, March 27, 2020, "Distraught, determined Little Sisters of the Poor deal with coronavirus death, illness at Jeanne Jugan home in Delaware"

Click here to read an article from The Dialog, March 27, 2020, "Little Sisters need disposable food trays, thermometers, cash to help protect residents at Jeanne Jugan in Newark"

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