New Report Details Staggering Number of Coronavirus Cases Linked to Nursing Homes

In many states, they account for more than half of total infections.

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Nursing homes proved to be some of the earliest epicenters of America’s coronavirus epidemic. But a new report from the New York Times details just how central nursing and long-term care facilities have been in the crisis: more than 54,000 residents and workers at such facilities have died from the virus—amounting to 43 percent of the country’s total deaths—and more than 282,000 people at them have been infected across 12,000 facilities.

From the outset of the pandemic early in 2020, nursing homes near Seattle and New York City reported the first cases of staggering numbers of infections and deaths. Residents at these facilities are especially high risk, since many are over 60 years old and have underlying medical conditions that can be exacerbated by the virus.

New York Times / New York Times

The Times report also found that in at least 24 states, a majority of deaths were found to be linked to nursing homes. The Times based its findings on official data from states, counties and facilities themselves, and will update the data as more information from these sources becomes available. You can keep up with it here.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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