All LA Nursing Home Residents To Be Tested For Coronavirus

LOS ANGELES, CA — State health officials overruled Los Angeles County this week, ordering all nursing homes to test residents and staffers for the coronavirus, a move aimed at stopping the spread of the disease where it's most deadly.

Los Angeles remains the epicenter of the state's outbreak, and nearly half the state's coronavirus fatalities have stemmed from nursing home outbreaks. Dozens of skilled nursing facilities in Los Angeles have reported multiple COVID-19 cases or fatalities. Los Angeles County officials had sought to test far fewer people. The county's plan would have allowed homes with no cases to skip testing their staffs and test only 10 percent of their occupants once a week. However, in a letter addressed to all such facilities statewide, the state instructed them to test all residents and staff at least once.

"Nursing home residents, and the healthcare personnel who care for them, are among our most vulnerable COVID-19 infections," Dr. Mark Ghaly, California's health and human services Secretary, told the Los Angeles Times. "Mandatory testing will provide the knowledge we all need to make informed care decisions."

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to hire an independent inspector general to investigate the county's oversight of nursing homes.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.