Throughout the country, cases of COVID are on a downward trend giving some a false sense of security that “the worst is over.”
Unfortunately, nursing home staff, residents, and family members recently learned this is anything but the case. An outbreak of COVID at a Connecticut nursing home that began on September 30, 2021, has left eight dead and 89 others testing positive for the disease.
This outbreak occurred at the Geer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canaan, Connecticut. According to officials, the eight who died because of this outbreak had serious health conditions, which left them more vulnerable to the effects of the disease. The breakdown of those who tested positive included:
- 67 residents
- 22 staff members
To date, 48 residents and 21 of the employees have fully recovered.
While this may seem like an isolated incident to some, it is a situation that is popping up across the state and country.
The Impact of COVID in Nursing Homes Across the Country for November 2021
According to information from AARP, the first half of November has seen over 16,000 new weekly COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents. This doubles the almost 9,000 new cases reported in May when numbers were first gathered.
In just the five weeks from October 11 to November 15, cases of COVID-19 among nursing home residents across the country increased 140%, from 6,740 to 16,257.
The status of COVID-19 in Connecticut
The coronavirus continues to impact the entire State of Connecticut. On Monday, November 15, the total number of COVID cases reported since the start of the pandemic reached 409,929 for the state. Currently, the number of people hospitalized because of COVID is 238, which is an increase of 13 since the prior Friday.
The statistics are clear; this is still a real and present danger, especially for those with compromised immune systems and the very old.
COVID-19 and Nursing Home Residents
The residents and staff at long-term care facilities were hit exceptionally hard during the pandemic’s initial year, accounting for around 31% of the total deaths. After the vaccine rollout, weekly deaths and cases in long-term care facilities began to drop and reached their lowest point in June 2021. Unfortunately, the introduction of the Delta variant resulted in another uptick of cases in these facilities.
Nursing homes across the United States reported around 1,800 total COVID-19 related deaths for staff and residents in August 2021, the highest amount for any month since February.
One of the reasons that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for residents and staff in long-term care facilities is the close quarters where people live and work. Many individuals have other chronic health conditions that can make the symptoms and outcome of COVID-19 devastating. The nursing home abuse lawyers at Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers are currently analyzing quite a number of Connecticut nursing home deaths caused by COVID-19 in order to pursue gross negligence claims against those nursing homes that failed to take action to protect those in their care. If you believe that your loved one who resided in a nursing home at the time of their death suffered because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, we encourage you to contact our team. At Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers, we take pride in representing those who were harmed in some way by another person or entity in Connecticut. Contact us today by calling 800-PERKINS to schedule a free consultation.