"US New York State Nursing Homes, at Least 4,813 COVID-19 Deaths" (Update)

Medical staff in charge of COVID-19 patients are transporting a patient. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] The Associated Press reported on the 5th (local time) that the number of deaths caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in nursing homes in New York State, USA, is at least 1,700 more than previously known.

The New York State government released a press statement the previous afternoon, announcing that since March 1, at least 4,813 people have died from COVID-19 in nursing facilities within the region.

This count included, for the first time, people who died before being confirmed positive for COVID-19 but were later found to be infected through testing.

In other words, it added those presumed to have died from infection without a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

According to the state government’s tally, many nursing homes reported more deaths than previously recorded.

Out of 613 nursing homes in New York State, 351 reported COVID-19 deaths.

However, the AP pointed out that people who were transferred to hospitals before death from nursing facilities were not included in the count, making it impossible to know exactly how many people were infected and died in those facilities.

A representative case is the Isabella Senior Welfare Center. The AP reported that as of the 1st, 13 COVID-19 deaths were recorded at the facility, but the total number of deaths increased to 64, including 21 confirmed deaths and 43 presumed deaths due to COVID-19.

Audrey Waters, spokesperson for the Isabella Senior Welfare Center, stated, "Like other nursing homes in New York City, we initially had limited access to rapid COVID-19 diagnostic testing. We tried to quickly isolate those showing symptoms, but our ability to identify infected and asymptomatic individuals was inevitably limited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.