High impact of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, suggestion for monitoring in the EU/EEA, May 2020

Euro Surveill. 2020 Jun;25(22):2000956. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.22.2000956.

Abstract

Residents in long-term care facilities (LTCF) are a vulnerable population group. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related deaths in LTCF residents represent 30-60% of all COVID-19 deaths in many European countries. This situation demands that countries implement local and national testing, infection prevention and control, and monitoring programmes for COVID-19 in LTCF in order to identify clusters early, decrease the spread within and between facilities and reduce the size and severity of outbreaks.

Keywords: COVID-19; EU/EEA; long-term care facilities; surveillance.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus / isolation & purification*
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Coronavirus Infections / mortality
  • Coronavirus Infections / transmission
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Europe / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Long-Term Care*
  • Male
  • Nursing Homes*
  • Pandemics / prevention & control*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / mortality
  • Pneumonia, Viral / transmission
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Vulnerable Populations