The American Health Care Association is reporting a 96% decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes since vaccines became widely available in late December.
COVID cases have plunged from a weekly high of around 34,000 on December 20 to a low of 1,349 cases nationwide the week of March 7. The National Center for Assisted Living, part of the American Health Care Association, also reported weekly deaths from COVID-19 down 91%.
Both of these figures are the lowest they’ve been since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services started tracking the numbers last May. The decline in nursing home cases has outpaced the decline of cases in general population, which has fallen 72% since the rollout of the vaccines.
This means many family members are visiting their loved ones in nursing homes for the first time in over a year. To get some tips on reuniting with loved ones with dementia, see our story here.
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