Institutions that welcome elderly dependents have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly three out of four nursing homes had at least one resident infected with the virus in 2020, and one in five institutions experienced a critical episode of the pandemic, resulting in many deaths, according to the a study Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), posted on Friday, July 2nd.
This survey was based on reports from institutions to the platform created by Public Health France. reported that 72.3% of nursing homes in France (excluding Martinique, Guyana and Mayotte) had at least one patient with Covid-19 in 2020, and that 20% declared “A critical episode, in which at least 10 of the population died or 10% of the total population”.
Of the nearly 600,000 nursing home residents, 38% became infected, and 5% died of Covid-19 infection. This represents 29,300 deaths registered in an institution or after transfer to hospital, according to the study.
In addition, more than three out of ten nursing homes (34.4%) experienced several episodes of pollution in 2020. The first wave, in the spring, was particularly affected by establishments in Ile-de-France and the Grand Est region and Hautes-de-France, where More than 55% of nursing homes have reported a case of infection in the population.
The second wave, from September, affected the entire region on a larger scale, causing the population to be affected twice as much as the first. However, “The number of deaths is identical” Between the two waves, says Aldrees. The Department of Statistics explains that this can be linked “Better detection of asymptomatic cases, thanks to testing, or better management of severe forms of the disease”.
Since then, the vaccination campaign, which began with nursing homes at the end of 2020, has made it possible to do just that “big drop” Number of facilities affected by Covid-19. In January and February, about 4,700 residents died from the virus, then 600 between March and May.