Over the past few days, Santa Clara County began to publish counts of cases, hospitalizations and deaths related to four kinds of group-living situations: nursing homes, assisted living, independent living and board and care homes. According to health officials, residents are more vulnerable to disease and death in those places.
Almost all of the county’s cases have happened in skilled nursing facilities — where the sickest patients live. And of those nursing homes, about 40% countywide are reporting outbreaks. No other Bay Area county is currently publishing this much detail about care homes. However, Santa Clara does not report the names of facilities seeing outbreaks of COVID-19
This comes as more than 21 percent of nursing homes in California are now reporting cases of COVID-19, according to new lists state officials made public Monday, following a promise by the governor. The California Department of Social Services released some limited information about cases and deaths at adult and residential care facilities. Together, the lists — among the most comprehensive in the nation — still offer only a partial picture of institutional outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Among more than 7,400 assisted living facilities, the newest list includes information only for facilities with more than six residents.
Among 1,244 skilled nursing facilities statewide, a list released over the weekend shows cases, but not deaths. Characterized as “a point-in-time snapshot,” it includes only nursing homes who reported cases within one 24-hour period. No facilities from Fresno or Kern counties appear on it, even though each of their health departments report that cases are surging countywide.
Read the full story from KQED's Molly Peterson here.