Nearly 2,500 long-term care facilities in 36 states are battling coronavirus cases, according to data gathered by NBC News from state agencies, an explosive increase of 522 percent compared to a federal tally just 10 days ago.
Nursing home residents are among those most likely to die from the coronavirus, given their advanced age and the prevalence of other health conditions. But the federal government does not keep a formal tally of the number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes or the number of facilities with infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
“It’s critical to have accurate information about which nursing homes have residents with confirmed cases of COVID-19,” she said, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus, “and which facilities need more staff and personal protective equipment, so that states can target additional resources where the need is greatest.”
Some states with the largest coronavirus outbreaks — including California, Michigan and Pennsylvania — did not provide the total number of deaths in long-term care facilities. Other states say they are actively working to bring such information to light: In Massachusetts, officials say they aim to include nursing home deaths as part of the state’s daily report on the virus, published online, as Connecticut already does. Colorado, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia also said they were working to provide more detailed information.