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April 14, 2020
Health Law Daily

At Least 2,300 Long-Term Care Facilities In 37 States Have COVID-19 Cases, Data Indicate

  • April 14, 2020

USA Today (4/13, Kwiatkowski, Nadolny) reports “the new coronavirus is racing through America’s nursing homes, and the impact has been far greater than the federal government has said.” So far, “at least 2,300 long-term care facilities in 37 states have reported positive cases of COVID-19, according to data USA TODAY obtained from state agencies.” Over “3,000 residents have died.” The piece adds that a CMS spokeswoman “said nursing homes are required to follow their local and state reporting requirements, but she did not respond to questions about why the agency is not tracking the number nationally.” Meanwhile, “CDC spokesman Scott Pauley said the agency used ‘informal outreach’ to state health departments late last month to estimate that 400 nursing homes had positive cases. The number has not been updated.”
      The Hill (4/13, Coleman) reports “a total of 18,300 people across 26 states’ nursing homes have tested positive, with most of the individuals representing residents, although some states combined the data for residents and staff.” A “lack of consistent data tracking across states and the lack of testing likely mean many cases aren’t being documented in this total, USA Today noted.”