Coronavirus Deaths in U.S. Nursing, Long-Term Care Facilities Top 10,000 - The Wall Street Journal

EMTs transported a resident from a nursing home in Brooklyn, N.Y., last week during an... — EMTs transported a resident from a nursing home in Brooklyn, N.Y., last week during an ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
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Jon Kamp and

Jon Kamp

The Wall Street Journal

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Anna Wilde Mathews

The Wall Street Journal

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April 22, 2020 4:10 pm ET

The number of U.S. coronavirus-linked deaths in long-term care facilities including nursing homes has eclipsed 10,000, as facility owners said they are still struggling to access the testing they need to detect and curb outbreaks.

A growing number of state health departments are reporting data, including fatalities, linked to facilities that primarily house older people, who often are in frail health and are particularly vulnerable to infections from the new coronavirus. Some states still haven’t reported data on deaths in such facilities, including Ohio and Washington state, but a Wall Street Journal survey has found at least 10,783 fatalities among more than 35 states that either report data online, or responded to requests for information.

In light of the growing toll, states including Massachusetts and West Virginia are trying to bolster testing for residents and staffers, and improve on what have sometimes been spotty numbers about the extent of the outbreaks.