Nursing homes will now have to tell families if there is a coronavirus infection at the facility

Nursing homes will now have to tell families if there is a coronavirus infection at the facility says HHS – meaning families have been kept in the dark for weeks

• Seema Verma announced nursing  homes will now have to report if there is a case of coronavirus in the facility to families of those residing at the center 
• This suggests that individuals were not previously informed if their family member was at risk of contracting the virus from another resident
• ‘We are requiring nursing homes to report to patients and their families if there are cases of COVID virus inside the nursing home,’ the HHS official said
• The elderly are at a heightened risk of falling fatal if they contract coronavirus 
• Social distancing guidelines recommend those over 60-years-old avoid leaving their homes for any reason other than seeking medical attention
• Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

By Katelyn Caralle, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 01:36 BST, 20 April 2020 | Updated: 01:41 BST, 20 April 2020

Seema Verma announced Sunday that those with family members in a nursing home will now be told if someone comes down with coronavirus in the facility.

‘Today we are announcing we are requiring nursing homes to report to patients and their families if there are cases of COVID virus inside the nursing home,’ Verma said during a White House coronavirus press briefing Sunday evening.

Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within Health and Human Services, said the task force is also now requiring nursing homes to report any instances of COVID-19 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The elderly are among the most susceptible to dying should they contract coronavirus, and under the White House social distancing guidelines, those over 60 years of age are told to stay home entirely.

This new initiative from the coronavirus task force suggests that those with family members in these facilities were not previously being informed if their loved ones were at risk of contracting the virus from an individual or outbreak at the nursing home.

Health and Human Service official Seema Verma announced Sunday that nursing homes will now have to report if there is a case or outbreak of coronavirus in the facility to families of those residing at the center

‘Today we are announcing we are requiring nursing homes to report to patients and their families if there are cases of COVID virus inside the nursing home,’ Verma said at the briefing

The elderly are among the most likely to die if they contract coronavirus, and COVID-19 has been known to spread swiftly through elderly-care facilities 

Verma added that HHS is launching this effort to keep old-care living facilities ‘transparent’ in the wake of the pandemic.

COVID-19 is much more likely to take the life of older individuals or those who are immunocompromised.

‘Today we are announcing under the president’s leadership an effort around nursing home transparency,’ Verma told limited press from the podium at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room Sunday.

‘It’s important that patients and their families have the information that they need, and they need to understand what’s going on in the nursing home,’ she continued.

Verma also said the federal government is making sure that nursing homes have the accessibility they need to test for coronavirus.

‘We are paying labs to go out to nursing homes to collect samples,’ the HHS official said.

Her announcement comes as states continue to lament that they do not have enough testing supplies for the demand of those who need or seek coronavirus testing.

Governors in several states have claimed they have the ability to double or triple their testing, but not the supplies from the government to do so.

Donald Trump said during the nearly-daily briefing that the federal government had amped up its production and distribution of testing kits, which he exhibited is just a single swab. 

Verma also said: ‘We are paying labs to go out to nursing homes to collect samples’ to test residents at nursing homes for COVID-19

Trump boasted that his administration is boosting production and distribution of coronavirus testing kits, explaining that they are very similar to cotton swabs by holding both up during the briefing

He even compared the medical nasopharyngeal swab to a cotton swab often used to clean ears, pulling them both out of his suit jacket pocket and holding them up for the cameras and press to see and compare.

‘We continue to procure millions of swabs, test collectors – I have something right here, I just happened to have. It’s a swab. Looks innocent. Not very complicated. Anybody like to see what it looks like? Should I open it?’ he asked the press as he held up a still wrapped swab.

‘Open it up? I will,’ he said after the press in the room said they wanted to see it.

‘This is what it’s about, right?’ he said, holding it up.

‘Does it remind you of something? Reminds you of this, right? One’s a swab, one’s a Q-tip,’ he continued, holding up both next to each other.

‘It’s actually different. It’s very sophisticated actually,’ the president admitted.

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