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Nursing homes have been directed to report the number of coronavirus infections and deaths to the federal government by midnight Sunday so that health officials can assess the damage the pandemic has inflicted on sick and elderly residents and their caregivers in more than 15,000 homes nationwide. Collecting the data marks the U.S. government’s first attempt to quantify the virus’s impact since an initial outbreak in a Seattle home three months ago killed more than 40 people and then spread to more than 1 in 4 nursing homes nationwide. (Sacchetti, 5/17)

Nursing homes operated by Life Care Centers of America, one of the largest chains in the industry, violated federal standards meant to stop the spread of infections and communicable diseases even after outbreaks and deaths from covid-19 began to sweep its facilities from the Pacific Northwest to New England, inspection reports show. Over the past six weeks, as the nationwide death toll among the elderly soared, government inspectors discovered breakdowns in infection control and prevention at at least 10 Life Care nursing homes that underwent covid-19 inspections overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Cenziper, King, Mulcahy and Jacobs, 5/17)

Residents have fallen ill with the new coronavirus in both the Worcester, Massachusetts, nursing homes where Kwaku Tsibo Bondah works. Protective equipment is in short supply, he said, and many of his colleagues have tested positive or are calling in sick because they’re afraid to come to work. (Quinton, 5/18)

Postpartum hemorrhage often leads to a dangerous drop in blood pressure and can quickly turn deadly — a mother in childbirth can bleed to death in five minutes. It is the leading cause of death during childbirth in Louisiana, which has had one of the highest rates of dying mothers over the past few years. (Woodruff, 5/16)

The state will begin publicly naming homes with at least one case of coronavirus. The move marks an abrupt turn toward transparency from the position the state has held for the last six weeks, when it was reporting infections and deaths only in aggregate, without naming any homes or hinting at the extent of the outbreak in any particular facility. (Roberts III, 5/16)

Nearly 5,000 people have died from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities in New Jersey. Some of the worst outbreaks have occurred at two of the state's homes for veterans. (Solomon, 5/15)