Epidemiology of Covid-19 in a Long-Term Care Facility in King County, Washington
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is being managed by a strategy of virology testing, with public heath follow-up, contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation. Thus far this strategy has been moderately successful with stabilisation of numbers of new cases and relatively few deaths,
The strategy also depends on a lockdown of people movement, which initially had been non-compulsory. The relatively good numbers are causing some complacency. This is very dangerous, if the lethal potential of the virus is in doubt; the outbreak in Washington State is salutatory.
In Seattle, WS, an outbreak of COVID-19 infection occurred at a long-term care facility, which housed 130 aged residents and 170 staff. As of March 18, 167 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection had been identified. The preliminary case fatality rate was 33% for residents (many remain in intensive care).
The message is clear: COVID-19 kills the old and sick, the only current control mechanism is avoidance of infection by social separation.
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