Opinion: To test our way out of the Covid-19 nightmare, focus on nursing homes
Less than 1% of Americans live in nursing homes, yet these facilities account for between 15% and 25% of Covid-19 cases and half of all deaths from the disease in some states; in Minnesota, nursing home residents and workers account for 81% of all Covid-19 deaths.
If we hope to contain SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, until we have better treatments or a vaccine, we need a concerted national testing effort focused on nursing homes. From a public health perspective, they are not only areas of focused harm but are also wells of infection that may keep the pandemic rolling unless we take drastic steps.
