It’s not yet confirmed if Muoi Ha was the 39th resident to die at Scarborough’s Tendercare Nursing Home as a result of a coronavirus outbreak.

What is confirmed is the 93-year-old with an incredible life story was living the Canadian dream up until last week when the COVID-19 nightmare, which she had successfully been avoiding all year, struck her in the Tendercare facility on McNicoll Ave.

“First they called and said she had a cough,” her daughter Jenny Diep recalled Saturday. “Then it was a fever, followed by breathing issues and then she couldn’t open her eyes.”

“She died on Christmas Eve,” said Jenny, fighting back tears outside of Tendercare.

At last count, as many as 39 people are believed to have died at the nursing home. But Jenny Diep worries that number will climb much higher. With the residence having at least 164 positive cases out of 180 residents, as well as 63 staff, this is clearly a health crisis.

The staff are overwhelmed with illness and sadness. Nursing staff and doctors from North York General have stepped in to help deal with this nightmare and are doing the best they can.

“We are managing,” said Dr. Christine Li, adding while it’s a tough situation the staff are working around the clock to battle this virus.

“COVID-19 is very sneaky,” said a nurse who has also come in to help. “But the way the media is portraying it is overblown.”

She said there is no need to bring in the military, as some have suggested. Salt of the earth people who are putting their health at risk to be in a place where the virus is out of control and there’s no talk of a vaccine being available until the middle of next year.

That said, when you have 39 dead and most of the residents COVID positive, the media is not exaggerating the story.

The focus now is to save as many people as they can. Sadly, it’s too late for so many — including Muoi Ha, who was fine until the outbreak spread through the building earlier this month.