Cicero nursing home where 10 died from coronavirus says current residents test negative

Officials at a Cicero nursing home where nine residents and one worker died from complications related to the coronavirus said all current residents at the facility recently tested negative for COVID-19.

The City View MultiCare Center, which underwent a court-ordered inspection after it was sued by the town of Cicero for allegedly not following health guidelines, said two rounds of independent testing by Chicago-based Simple Laboratories showed that none of the residents have the virus.

More than 200 residents and staff members at the facility, at 5825 W. Cermak Rd., tested positive several weeks ago.

COVID-19 tests administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health in March showed 55% of residents and 15% of staff tested positive for the virus, City View said in a statement Thursday. The majority of employees who previously tested positive have returned to work, City View said, after the prescribed quarantine period and after not developing symptoms.

Cicero sued the facility in Cook County Circuit Court following the coronavirus-related deaths that were reported last month. The town sought a judge’s order to move the residents to another facility and accused City View of not following state and federal health guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.

But an inspection by state health officials ordered by Judge Alison Conlon revealed no “red flags.” State officials said City View did not have significantly more cases of COVID-19 compared to other senior care facilities in Illinois.

Conlon ultimately denied the town’s request to move the residents, but said the town’s public health department could make two unannounced visits at City View this month.

City View officials said they found the initial COVID-19 testing results “startling” because many of the facility’s residents showed no symptoms.

“...As the days and weeks went on, we noticed the majority of these individuals continued to feel fine and had not exhibited any symptoms,” City View said in its Thursday statement.

The results of the re-tests and the town’s health officials’ observations during the unannounced visits are expected to be discussed before Conlon on June 5.

Cicero officials were pleased to learn of the latest numbers and said they feel “satisfied [City View] is doing what needs to be done,” town spokesman Ray Hanania said.