In the latest COVID-19 outbreak at an Illinois Veterans’ Home, 16 residents and six staff members at the Manteno Veterans’ Home recently tested positive for the virus, and one veteran died. The individual who passed away was receiving hospice care and was reported as “completely asymptomatic.” The resident died within hours of receiving a positive test.
Unlike the outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home when the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) took almost two weeks to arrive on site and 36 veterans died, IDPH officials were at the Manteno Veterans’ Home within hours of the tests coming back positive. According to IDPH, residents who tested positive were moved into an isolated area while symptoms were monitored. The State’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs said they are conducting daily screenings of residents and staff at the Manteno Home, and the highest safety protocols are in place.
The outbreak at Manteno comes just one month after the Pritzker Administration was criticized in an Illinois Auditor General report for its handling of the LaSalle outbreak in November of 2020, in which the Administration has yet to take responsibility.