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On a recent morning, Bill Williams, 87, awoke to learn of a terrible virus that had spread everywhere and was killing people. âWell, weâve got this virus,â an aide at his nursing home in Broken Bow, Neb., told him. A few minutes later, he had forgotten about the virus, and so the nursing aide told him again. And then again. She would have to tell him the next day, too.
âItâs pretty quiet in here,â Mr. Williams said, biting the inside of his lip a little.
âWell, weâve got this virus.â
On most days, after Mr. Williams forgets again about the virus, he gets out of his armchair and into his wheelchair and goes down the hallway at Brookestone View Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation. Like other residents with Alzheimerâs disease or dementia, he is ânoncompliantâ with mask-wearing protocols. He says the masks fog up his glasses. Or he thinks: What mask? He is also ânoncompliantâ with social-distancing measures.