More Than 25,000 Nursing Home Residents Have Died From COVID-19

More than 25,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19 as the virus wreaked havoc in care facilities spread around the United States in recent months.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a report released Monday that the virus is responsible for the deaths of 25,923 residents as well as 449 nursing home employees.

The data, which was also collated with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also discovered some 34,000 COVID-19-related infection cases among staff members working at nursing facilities across the U.S.

According to The Hill, the current administration of President Donald Trump has “promised to publicly publish” report regarding COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes at the end of May. At the same time, CMS is scheduled to release the data this week, but it said it wasn't complete. The report only accounted for 80% of the country's 15,400 Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes. Those that don't comply will be fined accordingly.

Assisted-living facilities on the other hand need not submit any information, although they can voluntarily, reported MSN. The outlet also reported a Wall Street Journal tally that pointed to more than 42,000 COVID-19-related deaths in long-term care facilities, including more than 200,000 cases. The numbers however overshadow the real details due to “reporting lags and incomplete information” from some states.

“This data, and anecdotal reports across the country, clearly shows that nursing homes have been devastated by the virus,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma and CDC Director Robert Redfield, through Fox News.

The official number of COVID-19 deaths will most likely increase after more nursing homes submit their reports, said Verma.

She added that 1 out every 4 nursing home facility had at least one case, and 1 in 5 have reported at least one death from COVID-19. The Washington Post said more than 1 in 10 residents have died in nursing homes in Washington D.C., New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

COVID-19 has drastic effects on nursing home facilities, residents and staff particularly because of its setup. Residents usually live in shared rooms and come in close contact with employees who can then become infected without showing the virus' symptoms, added MSN.