At least 54,000 residents and employees of nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died from the coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, accounting for 43 percent of virus-related deaths in the United States.
Relying on reports from states, counties and individual facilities, as well as some data from the federal government, The Times has tracked 282,000 known coronavirus cases at some 12,000 facilities.
Most of the country’s largest clusters have emerged in nursing homes, prisons and food processing facilities — places where social distancing is difficult or impossible, and in some cases where shutting down because of the pandemic was not an option. While many of the prison and food processing clusters involved more total cases, the country’s deadliest outbreaks have been largely in nursing homes, where older residents with underlying health problems are uniquely vulnerable to the virus.
In nursing homes with large outbreaks, The Times found that about 17 percent of people with the virus died, compared to about 5 percent of all known coronavirus patients. In Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, more than three-quarters of all coronavirus deaths have been tied to long-term care facilities. At least six nursing homes, all in the Northeast, have reported 70 or more coronavirus deaths.
In Ohio, outdoor visitation at nursing homes will be allowed starting on July 20, as long as safety protocols are followed, Gov. Mike DeWine said on Monday. Fifty-seven percent of the more than 2,800 virus deaths in the state have been linked to nursing homes, which have barred visitors since March.
“I know that this has been gut wrenching for families not to be able to see in person their loved one,” Mr. DeWine said.
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