U.S. elderly care machines constitute a severely affected area where
virus detection is not timely, protective equipment and personnel are in short supply

　　□ Chen Xiaofang, our correspondent in the United States

　　Since the outbreak of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, American pension institutions have repeatedly attracted local media attention for gathering infections and ineffective treatment. Recently, a national survey conducted by the New York Times across the United States found that the number of deaths in nursing homes across the United States is much higher than known data.

　　Death toll

　　On May 9, the "New York Times" released data on confirmed and fatal cases in American nursing homes in a report. Data show that so far, more than 143,000 people have been infected with new coronary pneumonia in various nursing homes in the United States, and at least 25,600 people have died.

　　According to data from Johns Hopkins University, as of 15:32 U.S. time on the 9th (Beijing time 3:30 on the 10th), the cumulative number of diagnosed cases in the United States is 1,300,079. According to the "New York Times" statistics, the number of confirmed cases in pension institutions currently accounts for only 11% of the United States, but the death toll accounts for nearly one-third.

　　New York State is the state with the largest number of deaths in nursing homes in the United States, and nursing homes have reported 5,292 deaths. Earlier, McCoy, a former lieutenant governor of New York State, said, "The outbreak nursing facility has been overwhelmed and there is a shortage of staff. As long as there is a new coronary pneumonia case, the entire organization will be hard to escape."

　　In addition, in dozens of states, including Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Massachusetts, the number of deaths of the elderly and nursing staff exceeds half of the total number of local deaths.

　　Point the finger at the White House

　　The elderly have always been a susceptible and high-risk group of new coronary pneumonia. The epidemic caused such a large number of deaths in nursing homes in the United States, which has caused widespread media attention. Some media pointed the finger at the White House. The direct cause of the large increase in deaths from the epidemic.

　　According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 15,600 nursing homes and 28,900 assisted living facilities regulated by the federal government, and more than 2 million Americans live in such long-term care institutions. But since the epidemic spread throughout the United States, pension institutions have been neglected. The center ’s investigation of a Washington State nursing center agency reported that the lack of personal protective equipment and staff working with the disease caused widespread outbreaks and quickly spread to other nursing homes in the area.

　　National Broadcasting Corporation reported that in the past few months, due to lack of preparation, lack of detection capabilities and lack of understanding of the new coronavirus transmission mechanism, many elder care institutions across the United States have been outbreaks. The sick old man's condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was often unable to get his family's last company before he died.

　　The Wall Street Journal said that inadequate ability to prevent and control infectious diseases is a long-standing problem in many nursing homes. Federal data shows that in fiscal year 2019, 15,672 nursing homes experienced nearly 7,200 infectious disease prevention problems. After the outbreak, the old-age care institutions all over the world said it was difficult to conduct virus detection in time. Coupled with the shortage of protective equipment and personnel, it was difficult to stop the spread of the outbreak.

　　In addition, opaque information delays the timing of epidemic prevention and control. In New York State, which is a severely affected area of ​​nursing homes, Governor Como was questioned about the disposal of the nursing homes. One of the key issues is that New York State began to publicly report the number of deaths in individual nursing homes only a few weeks after the outbreak of the nursing homes. No number of confirmed cases has been reported so far.

　　Influence the presidential election

　　Today, less than six months before the November presidential election, in order to "sell" Trump to the American people, Trump's campaign team tried to find his new "selling point": highlighting Trump's Economic achievements and shaped him as the best person to lead Americans to achieve economic recovery.

　　According to media reports, before being interrupted by the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, the US economy has reached an unprecedented height under the leadership of President Trump, but Trump ’s various performances in the fight against the epidemic are endangering his campaign prospects.

　　In response to the figures released by the New York Times, some commentators pointed out that the Trump administration knows that the new coronary pneumonia epidemic is a great threat to the elderly, but it has not given enough attention and special support to American pension institutions to allow American pension institutions The losses are heavy and should bear corresponding responsibilities.

　　For many years, the elderly have been the largest voting group of the Republican Party and Trump. According to US national export poll data, in 2016, Trump won the support of voters over 65 with a 7 percentage point advantage. But the spread of the epidemic in pension institutions may cause Trump to lose the support of the elderly. In a recent poll, Democratic presidential nominee Biden was 10 points ahead of Trump among voters 65 and older.