State and National Data Show Steep Decline in Nursing Home COVID Cases

State and National Data Show Steep Decline in Nursing Home COVID Cases Many Facilities Poised to Loosen Visitation Restrictions OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 26th) – Data released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) shows that new COVID-19 infections in long-term care (LTC) facilities have fallen to less than 10 percent of rates reported in late 2020. From February 11-18 of 2021, there were 39 new COVID cases among residents, according to data reported by OSDH. In the last week of December 2020, that weekly total was 443. Additionally, test positivity rates continue to decline. In data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, far fewer Oklahoma counties are listed as “red.” In the last week of December 2020, 29 Oklahoma counties were listed as red counties for high nursing home positivity rates.  In the week ending on February 17, just 11 counties were listed as red. Most skilled nursing facilities in Oklahoma have now held at least one vaccination clinic, and many have completed the three clinic process. Nationally, upwards of 80 percent of LTC residents have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those vaccinations appear to be contributing to declining rates of COVID transmission in nursing homes that are far outpacing the rest of the population, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Read more » by Jamison Faught - March 03, 2021 at 10:51PM

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