State reports another 1,700 virus deaths reported in NY nursing homes

New York announced Tuesday more than 1,700 previously undisclosed coronavirus deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities.

News 12 Staff

May 6, 2020, 12:53 AM

Updated 1,674 days ago

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New York announced Tuesday more than 1,700 previously undisclosed coronavirus deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities.
The state is still trying to determine how many people have died in total in nursing homes from the virus - the process is complicated because of patient transfers between nursing homes and hospitals.
Coming into Monday, New York had 3,100 confirmed coronavirus deaths in nursing homes, but a new analysis tacked on 1,700 more presumed deaths, putting the total over 4,800.
The data shows Westchester County has seen more than 170 deaths from coronavirus in nursing homes, while more than 200 people have been presumed dead.
In Putnam County, there have been more than a dozen nursing home deaths, with none presumed. Dutchess County reported 20 confirmed deaths and nine presumed.
"The confirmed deaths are the ones we are running in the official tally, other localities are submitting unconfirmed deaths but we want to confirm those things as much as we can, but now we're putting both categories," says Dr. Jim Malatras. "So people can clearly see because some of the facilities were putting both together, it was difficult to tease out."
The state has been scrutinized for requiring nursing homes to allow residents being treated for the virus to return from the hospital to their facility, especially with the higher risks older adults face.
Nursing home deaths account for almost a quarter of the state's death toll. The state is now granting Westchester the authority to roll out a plan to test every resident in county nursing homes in an effort to stem the numbers.