WASHINGTON, D.C. — A national organization representing nursing homes and assisted living facilities warned of a spike in COVID-19 cases saying facilities are seeing the worst increase in cases since spring.
Hardest hit are nursing homes in the Midwest, which have experienced a 400% jump in cases since September. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living said the uptick is linked to community spread.
More than 2,000 nursing home residents died the week of November 15. Locally, the latest nursing home numbers from the Maryland Department of Health show active cases in two Calvert County facilities and four Charles County facilities.
“Our worst fears have come true as COVID runs rampant among the general population, and long term care facilities are powerless to fully prevent it from entering due to its asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread,” stated Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “Our health care heroes are doing everything they can to prevent it from spreading further, but this level of COVID nationwide puts serious strain on our workforce, supplies, and testing capacity. Given the fact that our elderly population is the most vulnerable and the rising level of COVID across the U.S. shows no signs of stopping, it is paramount that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide the highest priority for the vaccine distribution to long term care residents and staff.”