2/3 of COVID-19 Deaths Yesterday Traceable to Long-Term Care Settings

According to the latest Virginia Department of Health data:

  • 33 COVID-19-related deaths were reported May 19 and published today.
  • 22 new deaths were reported for long-term care facilities.

That’s just one day’s results. But it’s consistent with yesterday’s data. Can we agree that the COVID-19 epidemic in Virginia is, at this point in time, primarily a nursing home epidemic?

Meanwhile, according to the latest Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association data, 10 of 262 Virginia’s nursing homes reported having difficulty obtaining N95 masks, 4 had trouble getting surgical masks, 7 finding face shields, and 21 obtaining isolation gowns. Is there a correlation between PPE shortages in nursing homes and the spread of the virus (and resulting deaths) at those same nursing homes? It would be nice if the VDH would make the data public so citizens could find out for themselves.

— JAB