Seattle-area nursing homes – including the Kirkland, Washington facility that’s been linked to 35 deaths – were probably vulnerable to the spread of the Covid-19 virus in part because staff members worked while displaying symptoms, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Inadequate equipment likely played a role as well, as did a delay in recognizing the illness for what it was, according to the agency’s “morbidity and mortality” report. The findings may shed light on how long-term care facilities should respond to the threat the virus poses to their residents.
