New weekly cases in nursing homes up by 44 percent between mid-September and week of Oct. 18
THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Nursing homes are seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases, paralleling an increase in the general U.S. population, according to a report published online Nov. 10 by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).
According to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, there has been a recent increase in weekly nursing home cases of COVID-19 that parallels the recent spike in new cases in the general U.S. population.
After seven weeks of declining cases in nursing homes through mid-September, cases began to increase, coincident with more than 35 states seeing increasing levels of COVID-19 cases. Between mid-September and the week of Oct. 18, 2020, new weekly cases in nursing homes grew by 44 percent nationwide. COVID-19-related deaths also increased slightly in nursing homes, with 1,192 deaths for the week of Oct. 18, 2020, up from a low of 1,008 deaths during the week of Sept. 27, 2020. During the week of Oct. 18, 2020, 41 percent of new COVID-19 cases in nursing homes occurred in Midwest states.
“Health care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living communities, are already experiencing an uptick in new COVID cases, and they need every possible resource heading into what promises to be a challenging winter,” Mark Parkinson, the president and chief executive officer of AHCA/NCAL, said in a statement.
Report: COVID Cases In U.S. Nursing Homes
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