Fewer LTC facilities reporting more cases of COVID-19 in staff, residents

JACKSON, Miss. (WLOX) - COVID-19 continues to spread through long-term care facilities as more cases are reported in South Mississippi long-term care facilities.

Twenty LTC facilities reported cases of COVID-19 in residents and staff this week in the six southernmost counties.

While the number of facilities reporting cases has gone down, cases numbers within these facilities continue to rise.

LTC facilities in South Mississippi reported 222 cases in staff members, 265 cases in residents and 36 resident deaths related to COVID-19.

The Mississippi State Department of Health recently clarified an outbreak will now be defined by a single confirmed COVID-19 infection in an LTC resident or more than one COVID-19 infection in employees or staff in a 14-day period.

One case of COVID-19 in an employee of an LTC facility will still prompt an investigation by MSDH.

The names of the facilities where outbreaks have been reported had previously been withheld, citing patient privacy.

[ TABLE: An in-depth look at the number of cases in long-term care facilities ]

A Hinds County Chancery Court ruling said the names of facilities with outbreaks of COVID-19 should be disclosed out of public interest, and the court agreed. A further recommendation from the state attorney general backed up the decision.

While the names of the specific facilities were released, the names of individual patients will still not be public, nor will how many cases each facility has reported.

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