Nursing homes plagued by coronavirus in New York are still “severely susceptible” to the deadly disease – more than nine months into the epidemic, a report said on Thursday.
Oct. 25 to 29 Nov. Between 29, nursing home residents accounted for a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths across the state, despite less than 1 percent of the population, the Empire Center for Public Policy found.
“They seem to be more sensitive than ever,” said Bill Hammond, a senior fellow for independent think-tank health policy.
During the five-week period, 268 coronaviruses died in the facilities, according to federal data reviewed by Hammond. That number represents 26 percent of all virus deaths reported by the state health department during that period.
Nursing homes in New York were hit the hardest, with 18 people among the dead, compared to the people at the Big Apple Moment.
Southern tires, for example, including Binghamton, Cunningham and Elmira, saw CO 84 Covid-1 fat casualties that week – about 1 percent of the region’s population.
There have been disturbing details following the spring wave of infections, despite the state imposing strict restrictions on nursing homes – such as limited visits and weekly tests for staff.
Hammond said he believes “nursing homes are better protected than before,” but after completing his analysis, “it doesn’t seem that way.”
“I think it is very difficult to protect nursing home residents from this virus because they are very sensitive,” he told the Post.
“Even though they have cut themselves off from the rest of the world, they have constant contact with employees … and those people are somewhat out of the world and inevitably exposed to the virus.”
The state’s coronavirus mortality rate – both inside and outside nursing homes – remains lower compared to April and May, while Hammond said the harassment trend needs to be taken into account.
“It amazes me that this issue, this attitude has not been addressed in the daily briefings by the governor or his people.”
“It’s a big percentage of upstate deaths, especially in nursing homes and we knew they were taking a lot of special care and protection.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had faced criticism for months that the epidemic had spread to nursing homes issued in the early days by his health department due to the epidemic.
The directives, which were later released on March 25, required nursing homes to accept the retrieval of COVID-19 patients from hospitals, a claim the governor claims follows controversial policy federal guidelines.
The Kuamo administration has publicly reported deaths from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities across the state since March – but declined to say how many died after they were taken to hospital for emergency treatment.
Legislators and the Empire Center have submitted requests for freedom of information laws and have sued the state for refusing to release those figures. That claim is pending.
Cuomo critics and health care experts called on the governor and his state health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker was fired for issuing the notice, which required nursing homes to allow civil-positive residents to return from hospitals if they did not need intensive care.
They argue that the command helps outbreak long-term care facilities, which are home to the elderly and disabled – some of them are susceptible to a fatal disease.
And an Associated Press analysis of the data suggests that the total number of nursing home deaths provided by the state could be a fairly small number. Some nursing૨3 nursing home residents died between early June and mid-July, according to an AP review of federal data – 65 percent more than the 195 deaths prolonged by the state in the same period.
If it is an indicator of inequality of reporting for each epidemic period, it is responsible for thousands of additional coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes.
The state’s DOHA released an internal report in July, saying the virus was spread mainly through facilities by employees.
But the self-review, which seeks to justify the department’s highly critical policies, was criticized by experts who said it was hidden through holes.
“There is no excuse. We know that these facilities are most vulnerable to COVID and Governor Cuomo and his administration, still cannot figure out how to protect them. He either doesn’t take care of her, he is unable to rule, or both. “We are now considering removing its powers,” Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) said Thursday, repeatedly criticizing the state’s nursing home policies.
But DOH spokesman Gary Holmes defended his boss’s decisions, claiming the “site wing political machine” was “ignoring science, data and facts” – despite the cited figures, reporting feeds obtained by New York’s own nursing homes.
“What we’ve said from the beginning is happening in all states – when the virus enters a community, it also enters nursing homes, usually through asymptomatic staff or visitors.”
He added: “New York continues to make every effort to protect the residents and staff of our nursing home, including a ban on visits to the red and orange zones, a return to twice-weekly testing in all micro-cluster zones, and in the coming days, in New Yorkers. Extensive program with nursing home residents and staff, the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccination.
.
