Nursing Communities, After Seeing Improvements, Now Face a Fresh COVID-19 Threat

Nursing communities across the United States are bracing for rising coronavirus infections that could threaten to erase previous strides and improvements, according to an ABC News review of state-by-state numbers. "Despite the improvements in testing, older adults in nursing communities — and in all care settings — continue to be under threat from this pandemic," declared Leading Edge CEO Katie Smith Sloan. Coronavirus deaths in nursing and long-term care communities through late October had surpassed 82,000 in the 41 states for which numbers were available. These appear to show that communities witnessed significant improvements late in the summer, with cases there comprising a smaller percentage of the overall infections in most states. Communities were testing more frequently, isolating infected residents earlier, and administering better treatments. "As we move into a second wave, we need to make sure we apply lessons from earlier in the pandemic to curb transmission and save lives," said practicing internist Jay Bhatt. "Infection prevention and prevention measures used by staff and residents will be critical in the coming months."