According to experts, the high mortality rate from COVID-19 is associated with the characteristics of the nursing homes. As the Director of the Spanish centre of documentation and research in the field of social issues of Joseba Zalakain, there are mostly people older than 80 years, they are at risk, susceptible to various serious diseases. In addition, they live together and communicate to each other. Another factor affecting the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes is the architecture of the building. A lot depends on his size, what in this room – for one person or not, whether they can be broken down into sectors. There is also the question about how provided health care services to the beginning of the epidemic, and what measures were taken after. In every country, in every nursing home these factors combine in different ways.
In Spain, there are 5417 of such centers, which are home to more than 370 thousand people. Army under operation “Balmes” held disinfection 4 thousand of them. But the number of cases still continues to rise as the number of deaths. Counting all such cases in the country is extremely difficult because the statistics are the regions. According to the newspaper, we are talking at least about 15 thousands of deaths, have been diagnosed with a coronavirus or manifested similar symptoms. Officially Spain died 23,5 thousand persons, but the Ministry of health takes into account only those who have confirmed infection COVID-19. Most of the residents of the nursing homes did not hand over analyzes. Noticed it only recently. In the end, Spain has opened 86 criminal investigations in relation to deaths in nursing homes.
In Belgium, the centres had 53 percent of all deaths in the country from the coronavirus. The publication of these data caused a huge scandal. And the government had to justify the fact that the statistics included all the suspicious deaths in nursing homes. COVID-19 was confirmed in only 10% of the cases. The rest were included in this list because of symptoms manifested. The question of why they have not been tested, remains open.
According to the latest data, Belgium registered more than 46 thousand cases of infection of 7.2 thousand people died. This puts the Kingdom in first place in the number of deaths per million inhabitants. According to the Federation of nursing homes, these centers was carried out on 20 thousand tests, infection with coronavirus was confirmed in 12 percent of employees and 19 per cent living there. It is noteworthy that the Prime Minister of Belgium Sophie Wilmes allowed families to visit their elderly relatives, not to leave them alone, but the regional authorities entrusted with the management of nursing homes, blocked the measure to reduce the risk of infection.
�� The UK in nursing homes are about 400 thousand people, and there are fears that the coronavirus will pick up two-thirds of them. This forecast was made due to the fact that the focus of the authorities is aimed at those who are already sick and not on the prevention and detection of new cases. At least in nursing homes. Until recently, lethal outcomes in such centers was not even included in the statistics. We are talking at least about 4 thousands of cases.
In France for nursing homes accounts for about one third of all deaths from the coronavirus in the country (8.7 thousand from 23 thousand). And this is only preliminary data, because the authorities have not yet collected data from all such centers, which are home to about 700 thousand people. To account started only in April. In the end, it turned out that the nursing home accounts for about half of all infections. Really sick are those who have manifested symptoms, if the centre had confirmed three cases of human infection COVID-19.
Despite such high rates, the authorities allowed relatives to visit elderly people in nursing homes. But for the sake of preventing further spread of the coronavirus, they are forbidden to touch each other. According to the Minister of health, Olivier Veran, eye contact is very valuable, many will experience investment, seeing that their family is all right.
In Italy the situation in nursing homes is out of control at the very beginning of the epidemic. February 1 and died there 6 thousand people, 40 percent of them were relevant to coronavirus symptoms, but diagnosis on COVID-19 spent less than 1 thousand people. According to the representative of the Higher Institute of health Graziano of Andera, the majority of deaths came at the end of March. The Prosecutor’s office began an investigation of the violation has already been detected in 17% of the 600 centres in Italy. So, it turned out that one of them (in Lombardy) of the infected lived in the same room with a healthy, and the management concealed the true number of deaths.
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute has admitted that in the country in nursing homes died not less than 1.4 thousand people, representing about one third of all cases. However, the President of the German Foundation for the protection of patients Yulen brish says that “the actual number of deaths” in these centers, which have more than 830 thousand locations, is not yet known. The infection was discovered in the country in January, but testing started only in March.
