More than one-quarter of Connecticut”™s nursing home residents were infected with Covid-19 during the springtime peak of the crisis, according to new research from the Yale School of Public Health.
More than 60% of the state”™s Covid-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes. The new Yale research, which covered the pandemic from its inception through June, found 28% of 2,117 people tested in 33 Connecticut nursing homes carried Covid-19 infections.
However, among 601 infected people tested during the research, roughly 90% had no symptoms of the disease and only a small number would later show symptoms.
Infections rates of at least 50% were recorded in 19 nursing homes, although three of the tested facilities were completely absent of positive cases. Out of 530 asymptomatic nursing home patients, 12% would develop Covid-19 symptoms within 14 days of being tested positive for the virus.
“Nursing homes have been the epicenter of the disease in Connecticut and much of the U.S. and Europe,” said Sunil Parikh, associate professor of epidemiology and medicine at Yale and lead author of the research.
“This study also shows how quickly the virus can take hold in congregate settings, as the majority of nursing homes had over half of their residents test positive within a month of identifying their first case, despite standard infection prevention measures at the time. Clearly, PPE and testing shortages, coupled with a symptom-based testing strategy, made it difficult to get a handle on these outbreaks early on.”
Separately, Gov. Ned Lamont”™s office announced that it received an independent interim report by Princeton, New Jersey-based Mathematica Policy Research on Covid-19 within Connecticut”™s nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Among the report”™s initial recommendations were changes to state policies related to Covid-19 testing of residents and staff who have previously tested positive, the use of two 12-hour shifts instead of three 8-hour shifts to limit entry and exit of staff to the facilities while maintaining staffing levels, and limiting the number of staff working in multiple facilities.
Mathematica, which was paid $450,000 for its research, will issue its final report in late September.
