US nursing home COVID-19 outbreak highlights close-quarter spread

Seattle, Washington - At the centre of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States is a nursing home in Washington state where several people have died after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Four ambulances rushed to the Life Care Center in Kirkland, in the Seattle area, on Monday morning. As stretchers wheeled people from inside, nurses held up white sheets to block the view of several news crews standing on the street.

By the end of the day, the virus' national tally of victims had jumped from two to six. The tally rose again on Tuesday, with Washington state reporting nine deaths. Seven were tied to the Life Care Center, including first death that was reported last week. 

The virus is unlikely to be as deadly in the general population, but the nursing home in Washington state signals that it has been more widespread than previously thought.

Scientists warn that long-term care facilities are an unfortunate overlap for two conditions viruses thrive on: close contact with a limited number of people and vulnerability of patients.

"These are circumstances where a respiratory disease that spreads from person-to-person contact can spread rapidly," infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University William Schaffner told Al Jazeera.

"This nursing home was just unlucky," Schaffner said. "I don't think that nursing homes are categorically at increased risk at this time, but if a virus gets access to a nursing home, it will spread."

The centre has been trying to reserve an open phone line for worried relatives who may want to call in, and contact with staff members has been limited to official statements.

Long-term care facilities have been put on high alert and given new guidelines by the Center for Disease Control, the American Health Care Association, and AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

In general, these facilities know how to deal with a viral outbreak when it happens, because they prepare each year for the violent arrival of influenza viruses, said David Nace, the president-elect of AMDA.