Cuomo unveiled new steps to protect nursing home residents after more than 5,300 die

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled new steps to protect people in nursing homes from the novel coronavirus after it caused the deaths of about 5,300 residents.
• Long-term care facilities will have to test more, wear PPE, and limit visits, Cuomo said.

• According to a tally by The Associated Press, New York has counted one-fifth of the total deaths from the virus of US nursing home residents.

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled new steps to protect the elderly from the novel coronavirus after he was criticized for the deaths of about 5,300 nursing home residents in the state, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

He said that New York had the 34th highest level of nursing home deaths as a percentage of residents, but noted that nursing homes were "ground zero" for outbreaks and contained the most vulnerable population at his daily briefing on Sunday.

Under the new rules, hospitals are not allowed to discharge patients to nursing homes unless they test negative for the coronavirus. By the same token, nursing homes will not be allowed to care for people with the disease unless they can meet certain safety requirements outlined by the state.

Workers at homes, for instance, now have to be tested twice per week, Cuomo said. They also have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and gloves when interacting with residents suspected to have COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Visits from family members are also banned unless someone is dying.

If nursing homes can't sustain the new criteria — like if they lack quarantine abilities or equipment — they need to contact the New York's health department for the residents' transfer, Cuomo said.

At that point, patients could be housed in the additional facilities the state set up in anticipation of exceeding its surge capacity in hospitals, according to the governor; New York created 40,000 beds in various outfits throughout that process, where newly marooned residents at long-term care organizations can be accommodated.

"If a nursing home cannot take care of a person, we have facilities that can," Cuomo said.

New York's health department said on March 25 that nursing homes were not allowed to deny people admission based solely on their COVID-19 diagnosis or require that they are tested beforehand. That policy has been criticized in recent weeks, with some saying it forced the coronavirus into nursing homes that were not equipped to handle it.

"The fact still remains that you cannot discriminate based on COVID-positive status," said Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, at the briefing. "However, as the governor has said 17 times, a nursing home cannot accept a patient if they cannot care for them."

"They have to be able to cohort the patients, there has to be segregated staff, you have to have the appropriate level of PPE," she said, adding that DOH will find alternative facilities.

Nationwide, about one-third of all coronavirus deaths are residents or workers in long-term care facilities like nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and retirement homes, according to a new database by The New York Times, despite that only 10% of cases occur in those places.