Despite precautions enacted after thousands of N.J. nursing home residents died this spring, the coronavirus continues to be a problem in the state’s longterm care facilities, according to an article on the NJ.com website.
At least 102 longterm care facilities saw new outbreaks this summer or fall after being declared COVID-19 free.
Included in those were 11 facilities in which residents or staffers died.
“Nursing home operators need to be taking every precaution, including giving frontline workers access to n95 masks, gowns and surgical masks before, not after, new outbreaks emerge,” said Milly Silva, the executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “Facilities need also to staff-up now, to prevent the type of short-staffing crisis that we experienced earlier this year.”
In Wisconsin, some nursing homes are also struggling, and the situation could be contributing to a state shortage of hospital beds, according to an article on the WPR website.
As of Oct. 7, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services was investigating 430 active coronavirus outbreaks at longterm care facilities across the state, including 186 at nursing homes, the article said.
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