Nursing Home Deaths Raise Concerns About Coronavirus Spreading Through Care Facilities

As concerns about coronavirus outbreak mount worldwide, experts are warning about the critical importance of nursing homes taking extra precautions to protect against the spread of infections, following several deaths at a care facility near Seattle, Washington.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an updated case count of coronavirus infections reported throughout the United States, which has been linked to at least 11 fatalities, six of which occurred in the same Washington-based long term care facility.

The Life Care Center in Kirkland is now being fully monitored by the Washington Health Department to quarantine the virus and prevent any further spread. Officials indicate more than 50 of the nursing home’s 108 residents and 180 staff members have shown signs of possible COVID-19 infections, which is more commonly known as novel coronavirus.

The concentration of nursing home coronavirus cases and deaths have raised concerns over the speed that the infection may spread at other facilities nationwide, particularly due to indications it is more dangerous to elderly patients.

In mid-February, the CDC issued a Hospital Preparedness Assessment Tool to better assist care facilities for the possible arrival of patients with COVID-19 disease, specifically aimed to prevent the spread of the disease within the facility and to protect vulnerable patients.

However, since then, data indicates that deaths worldwide appear to be particularly concentrated among older adults in their 60s, 70s or beyond. Experts are urging nursing homes to be vigilant and for elderly individuals to get immediate care for signs of respiratory infections, regardless of whether they believe it to be coronavirus or not.

The recommendations include quickly identifying and isolating patients with possible COVID-19 infections and to monitor and manage any healthcare personnel treating possibly infected patients.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends regular washing of hands for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitizer. Both WHO and the U.S. surgeon general are urging consumers not to stock up on face masks, due to the high need of them among health care workers and because of the limited protection they provide for the general public. The recommend that face masks should be worn only by people who are either sick or are caring for someone who is.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China late last year, and has rapidly spread to more than 70 countries across the world, infecting roughly 94,000 people to date, and causing an estimated 3,000 deaths.

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes a wide range of illnesses and symptoms varying from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, and cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Although coronavirus outbreaks have been identified before, the current strain of COVID-19 is a novel strain, which has added to the struggle for health officials to break the chains of transmission and contain its spread.

As of March 4, 2020, the CDC is aware of at least 80 cases of COVID-19 across 13 states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. Twenty-two of these cases were confirmed to be travel-related, 11 are believed to be person-to-person transmission, and in the remaining cases the source of exposure is still under investigation.