# What is the covid death rate in nursing homes **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 4, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077 "2020-04-04T21:23:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077/1 "2020-04-04T21:23:27Z")
At least one nursing home has seen covid run through it, does anyone know what the death rate for infected people in a nursing home is? A cursory glance at the nursing home in Washington, Life Care Center of Kirkland, now has 37 deaths. > **[Coronavirus Hit This Long-Term Care Facility Hard, But Moving Residents Isn't...](https://www.npr.org/2020/03/14/815606731/coronavirus-hit-this-long-term-care-facility-hard-but-moving-residents-isnt-easy)** > > Family members of residents at Life Care Center outside Seattle where as many as 25 people have died, are anxiously watching their loved ones, infected with coronavirus, linger at the facility. > [@](#): > > As of Friday afternoon [March 13th], only about a third of the 120 residents who were living at the facility in mid-February remain. There are 25 people associated with Life Care who have died after being infected with coronavirus. Other residents are in the hospital So 25 in mid march, now 37. I’m not sure what % are patients vs staff, but I’m going to assume most deaths are among patients. > **[Nursing Home Linked to 37 Coronavirus Deaths Faces Fine of $600,000...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/virus-kirkland-life-care-nursing-home.html)** > > Federal and Washington State officials found failures at Life Care Center of Kirkland during the coronavirus outbreak that spread through the facility. I’m guessing more will die and some never got infected. So maybe ~120 total residents, now around 37 are dead. I assume some never got infected and some infected are going to die but haven’t yet. So is the death rate for nursing home patients who get infected as high as 50%? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077/2 "2020-04-04T21:36:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > A cursory glance at the nursing home in Washington, Life Care Center of Kirkland, now has 37 deaths. Bellingham is about 84 miles north of Kirkland. From an article dated 31 March, a fourth patient has died at the Shuksan Healthcare Center in Bellingham, bringing the number of deaths in Whatcom County to eight. A total of fifty-three people at the facility, 33 residents and 20 employees – have tested positive. Of the 33 residents still at the facility, 28 have tested positive. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077/3 "2020-04-04T22:28:19Z")
Extremely high in many nursing homes here in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077/4 "2020-04-05T00:50:19Z")
Keep in mind those are getting press. What about the nursing homes where one person gets it, recovers and that is it Those numbers are not going to get any press coverage but would drastically lower the rate. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I am trying to even the bar so you can get all the side in and make sure before you draw conclusion, you think about the totality of the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-covid-death-rate-in-nursing-homes/851077/5 "2020-04-05T00:58:46Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > Keep in mind those are getting press. What about the nursing homes where one person gets it, recovers and that is it > > Those numbers are not going to get any press coverage but would drastically lower the rate. > > I’m not trying to be difficult, but I am trying to even the bar so you can get all the side in and make sure before you draw conclusion, you think about the totality of the situation. Possibly, but if nursing homes are in general about ~100 people and the patients all tend to have about the same level of health, the death rate is probably similar across nursing homes. Its more a matter of how many get infected.