Outbreaks of Coronavirus in nursing homes in South Carolina and other states have shown that nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to the deadly respiratory disease.

A King County, Washington, nursing home was the nation’s first “hot spot” for coronavirus cases in late February and early March. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 infected 81 residents, 34 staff members and 14 visitors. Twenty-three people have died.

Multiple cases of COVID-19 have been traced to a Lexington Medical Care Extended Living Facility in Lexington County, South Carolina. An older male resident of the facility who died in March was the state’s first COVID-19 fatality, The State newspaper reported.

On March 30, ABC News reported coronavirus outbreaks “infecting hundreds of residents … and killing at least five people” at four nursing homes in four states over the previous weekend – Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.

South Carolina is home to nearly 200 nursing homes and thousands of nursing home residents, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Despite many South Carolina nursing homes closing their doors to visitors since late March, as recently as April 7, an Anderson, S.C., nursing home reported a resident testing positive for COVID-19.

There are many questions to be raised and answered in the coming months about how nursing homes have dealt with the COVID-19 coronavirus and protections for vulnerable residents. Family members of nursing home residents who have been hospitalized and/or died from the virus will inquire as to whether the nursing home facility took reasonable steps to protect residents and prevent the spread of the virus.

What Should Nursing Homes Do to Protect Residents from COVID-19?

The COVID-19 coronavirus is a respiratory disease spread mainly through person-to-person contact. The elderly and people with underlying health problems are particularly vulnerable to the potentially fatal virus. Researchers suggest that the elevated risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 among the elderly is due to frailty of the immune system among people age 70 and older and those who have preexisting conditions.

Unfortunately, elderly people with debilitating medical conditions who live in close proximity to each other describes nursing homes. Bring in visitors or staff who may have coronavirus but are not exhibiting any symptoms, and you have the perfect storm of COVID-19 contagion.

Following outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities across the country, the CDC issued general strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). They are the same strategies these facilities use every day to detect and prevent the spread of other respiratory viruses like influenza, the federal agency said.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which funds most nursing homes and other LTCFs, has issued its own guidance for infection control to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at a variety of inpatient and outpatient healthcare facilities and for healthcare providers, based on CDC guidelines.

CMS’s five guidelines for nursing homes and other LTCFs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include: