23 Die from New Coronavirus at Alabama Veterans Nursing Home

Coronavirus

23 Die from New Coronavirus at Alabama Veterans Nursing Home

May 13, 2020

A woman wearing a protective mask walks through the mostly empty food court as Alabama s largest shopping mall, the Riverchase Galleria reopened in Hoover, Ala., Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

AP A woman wearing a protective mask walks through the mostly empty food court as Alabama s largest shopping mall, the Riverchase Galleria reopened in Hoover, Ala., Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Dozens of stores, including major retailers, remained closed as the mall opened for business for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves) Color

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Nearly two dozen people have died at an Alabama veterans nursing home from the new coronavirus.

The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday that 23 deaths from the disease occurred at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City. The state-owned facility has a capacity of 150 residents, and 91 have tested positive for the virus.

The agency says a worker at the home wasn’t allowed to enter after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 30, and that the first resident tested positive nine days later.

The home has since been decontaminated and residents who test positive are being isolated.