Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on long-term care facilities
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted long-term care facilities and nursing homes around the world.[1] Thousands of residents of these facilities, who are a high-risk group, have died of the disease.
France[edit]
About a third of reported coronavirus deaths have occurred among residents—more than 3,000[8]—causing the homes to run low on body bags.[19] More than 2,300 homes have had at least one case reported.[8] Nursing home residents are being isolated in their rooms to slow the spread of the disease, while hospitals are reluctant to admit patients who have little chance of recovering.[19] Most elderly requiring care in France live in EHPADs.[20]
Germany[edit]
On 18 March, the first case was identified at the Hanns-Lije retirement home in Wolfsburg.[21] On 31 March, at least 17 died from COVID-19 in this residence.[22]
On 2 April, Robert Koch of the Institute in Germany affirmed that as of 1000 German deceased,[23] 87% were older than 70 years. Of these, more than 50 were residents in nursing homes in Bavaria, Cologne and Wolfsburg.[24] By 9 April, 29 residents of the nursing home in the city of Wolfsbrg died.[25]
Italy[edit]
As of 9 April, 3,859 people have died in care homes operated by RSA since 1 February of whom 133 tested positive and 1,310 had symptoms consistent with coronavirus. Prosecutors are investigating a home in Milan where 27 residents died of suspected coronavirus infection during the first week of April.[8]
Russia[edit]
The first officially confirmed case of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Russian nursing homes for elderly and disabled people was located the town of Vyazma, on April 11, 2020.[26][27]
Deputy Minister of Ministry of Labour and Social Protection Olga Batalina reported on April 23, 2020, that 450 Russians living in nursing homes were infected with the COVID-19, and diseases were registered in seven regions of Russia. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation called in April 2020 to close all care homes in full quarantine.[28] At the beginning of May 2020, Elizaveta Oleskina, an employee of the Charity Fund "Starost v Radost" (Old Age in Joy), reported that there were cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes for elderly people in 20 Russian regions.[27]
The number of the elderly or disabled people living in Russian nursing homes is estimated (as on 2020) about 280.000.[27]
Russia has also increasing number of the private elderly care homes. The number of the elderly, living in Russian private care homes, was estimated (as on 2020) about 25.000, but no open information available about the cases of the COVID-19 in the private care homes.[29]
Human Rights Watch declared on 2 June 2020, that Russian government must openly publish all the data about the cases of COVID-19 in the Russian care homes because there were information about silencing of the facts that may increase risk of occurring of the disease outbreaks in the care homes.[29]