More than half the people who have died from COVID-19 in Massachusetts caught the virus in nursing homes, according to new data from the state.
The state is now requiring nursing homes to test at least 90% of their residents for the coronavirus — and the Department of Public Health is releasing results for each facility.
As of this week, in all western Massachusetts counties, more than 400 nursing home residents have died. In Hampden County alone, which has the state's highest per capita death rate, almost 300 people have died from nursing home exposure. That's more than half of the total deaths so far in the county.
And that's not including more than 75 people who died at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, which is listed in a separate category of state-run facilities.
The Leavitt Family Jewish Home in Longmeadow reported 66 deaths — approximately a third the number of beds advertised — which is the state's highest count among regular nursing homes. Requests for comment from the home were not returned.
