SARS-CoV-2-related deaths and cases in nursing homes remained steady during the most recent four-week reporting period, March 22 through April 18, according to the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard. That’s after a “dramatic” decrease by at least 90% from the December 2020 peak, the organization noted.
According to the dashboard, co-created by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University, Oxford, OH, all COVID-19 effects remain at the lowest or nearly lowest level on record since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began reporting data in May 2020. Within this most recent reporting period, however, improvement has stopped, and COVID-19’s effect on nursing home residents and staff members remained constant or slightly higher.
The rate of COVID-19 resident deaths during the four-week data period ending April 18 was fewer than one out of every 1,000 nursing home residents. That represents an almost 50% decline from the four-week data period ending March 21. The weekly rate of deaths, however, remained fairly constant throughout April, with a 15-week decline in death rates coming to a close.
The AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard uses federally reported data to provide four-week snapshots of the virus’ presence in nursing homes and its impact on residents and staff, nationally and state-by-state.
