Analysis: Nursing Homes, Other Group Living Settings, Skew NJ’s COVID-19 Rates

More than 17% of positive cases stem from long-term care centers, prisons and state developmental centers

By Colleen O’Dea, NJSpotlight

New Jersey health officials can’t say who are among the thousands of new positive COVID-19 cases reported daily — health care workers, grocery store clerks or people who violated social-distancing orders — but data shows that group living situations are responsible for significant proportions of cases and deaths to date. An analysis by NJ Spotlight of publicly available data from multiple state agencies found that more than 17% of the nearly 114,000 who have tested positive for the deadly virus since its outbreak in New Jersey March 4 are in such group settings as nursing homes, developmental centers and prisons. More than a third of the 6,442 confirmed deaths to date, or 2,253, are related to these facilities.

The deadly spread of COVID-19 through group living statewide — nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, in particular — has sickened close to 20,000 residents and staff alike and left thousands of families grieving for grandparents, children and friends. It also indicates that fewer cases of the virus than many thought are circulating outside the walls of such facilities.

The question of who is currently infected and how they got sick is a crucial one as New Jersey considers when and how to reopen, with many residents worried about how prevalent COVID-19 is in their communities and whether they will be at risk of getting the virus if they go back to their normal routines.

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Posted: April 29th, 2020 | Author: admin | Filed under: COVID-19, New Jersey | Tags: COVID-19, New Jersey, NJSpotlight, Nursing homes | Comments Off on Analysis: Nursing Homes, Other Group Living Settings, Skew NJ’s COVID-19 Rates

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