Reports are rolling in about the role nursing homes play in the COVID-19 pandemic and the numbers are horrifying. In Minnesota, 73 percent of all COVID-19 deaths are related to nursing homes. In Massachusetts, the figure is 55 percent. More-systematic reporting and data-collection efforts have resulted in upward revisions in many states of the percentage of deaths associated with nursing homes. Connecticut significantly revised its estimate upward this week, concluding that over half of all coronavirus-related deaths in the state involved nursing home residents instead of its earlier estimate of one-third. Colorado this week announced that 64 percent of its COVID-19 deaths were in nursing homes, a stunning increase of 84 percent in just one week. In communities such as Kirkland, Washington, home of one of the country’s first virus outbreaks, virtually all of their COVID-19 deaths have been related to nursing homes.
The U.S. is not alone in experiencing nursing home trauma. A multi-country study published last week reinforces the emerging U.S. trend, finding 57 percent of the deaths in Canada and approximately half of all deaths in Europe from COVID-19 were related to nursing home patients, including 64 percent in Norway, 49 percent in hard-hit Belgium, and an estimated 53 percent of the total deaths in Spain.
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