THURSDAY, Jan. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Among residents and staff members in U.S. nursing homes, the rates of COVID-19 increased in June and July, then decreased by September, and increased again by late November, paralleling trends in surrounding communities, according to research published in the Jan. 8 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Suparna Bagchi, Dr.P.H., from the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues describe COVID-19 rates among nursing home residents and staff members using the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network nursing home COVID-19 data reported during May 25 to Nov. 22, 2020, and they compared these rates to those in surrounding communities.
The researchers found that during June and July 2020, COVID-19 cases increased among nursing home residents, reaching 11.5 cases per 1,000 resident-weeks. The rates declined to 6.3 per 1,000 resident-weeks by mid-September, then increased again, reaching 23.2 cases per 1,000 resident-weeks by late November. Among nursing home staff members, COVID-19 cases also increased during June and July, declined during August and September, and increased by late November (10.9, 6.3, and 21.3 cases per 1,000 resident-weeks by week of July 26, Sept. 13, and Nov. 22, respectively). In the surrounding communities, the rates of COVID-19 followed similar trends.
“Nursing homes are high-risk, congregate settings that require a comprehensive infection prevention and control strategy to reduce SARS-CoV-2 entry into the facility and mitigate transmission to prevent severe outcomes,” the authors write.
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