Soon after the confirmation of Michigan's first COVID-19 cases, the state's nursing home association leader recommended that empty facilities should be used as quarantine centers, according to an article on the Detroit News website.
But state officials declined the suggestion, and instead set up a system in which infected residents are cared for in isolated areas of nursing homes.
The one was criticized by lawmakers who support the idea of separate facilities to limit the spread of the virus to other elderly, vulnerable individuals.
Overall, two-thirds of Michigan's COVID-19 deaths have been individuals 70 years old or older, according to state data.
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