Report: 56 coronavirus deaths at 14 assisted living homes owned by same company

Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossing, on Route 7, in Ridgefield, Conn. March 19, 2020.
Photo: Peter Yankowski / Hearst Connecticut Media

At least 56 residents at assisted living facilities operated by one company throughout Connecticut have died after being exposed to the coronavirus, new data shows.

A total of 163 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, across 14 facilities owned by Benchmark Senior Living in Connecticut. At least 104 employees have also gotten sick after being exposed to the virus.

The data, obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media, is based on Benchmark’s own accounting of the disease’s path through its senior homes and represents only a fraction of the 111 assisted living facilities in Connecticut.

“We are deeply saddened by the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the world’s senior population and those who care for them,” said Amanda Cillo, a spokeswoman hired by Benchmark Senior Living from the public relations firm Burson Cohn & Wolfe.

“It is well-documented by public health experts that older people and those with underlying medical conditions are particularly susceptible to this novel coronavirus.”

Cillo did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about the data.

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Report: 56 coronavirus deaths at 14 assisted living homes owned by same company