Covid-19 Infections Surge in Nursing Homes… Again
Deaths are on the rise again, too, and the industry expects worse to come
This is exactly what health experts warned against. As Americans let down their collective Covid guard after spring lockdowns and new infections surged, particularly among younger adults, the coronavirus would make its way back into nursing homes and their high-risk populations.
After initial outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where some 43% of the early pandemic deaths occurred, the number of new infections declined through mid-June. The figure then began rising and did so through the end of July, according to a new report from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
Deaths in nursing homes have also started to rise again. In general, experts say, deaths lag the emergence of new cases by anywhere from two to four weeks.
Infection rates in nursing homes are linked to the extent of spread in a given community, experts have said.
“With the recent major spikes of COVID cases in many states across the country, we…
