Universal testing contains COVID-19 outbreak in nursing home..

A nursing home in Pennsylvania rapidly contained a COVID-19 outbreak by implementing a universal testing strategy for all residents and staff, according to study findings published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.


 “We chose to publish our experience managing a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in a local nursing home because we think that our experience in controlling the outbreak could potentially help others that work in nursing homes or long-term care facilities if they are trying to develop action plans for managing a COVID-19 outbreak in their respective facilities,” Daniel J. Escobar, MD, an infectious diseases fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, told Healio.




 According to Escobar, recently published data showed there have been more than 142,000 COVID-19 cases in nursing homes across the United States, and more than 38,000 COVID-19-related deaths. He said having a plan for management of COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities or nursing homes is essential to protect an older and more fragile population.