The State of Michigan says of roughly 28,000 deaths related to COVID-19, a little more than 6,000 of them were in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes. But a new report coming out on Monday will reportedly show that number is higher. So why the discrepancy?
The state says their data is right, even as the data was released following a lawsuit filed by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, on behalf of former FOX 2 reporter Charlie LeDuff. The suit was to force MDHHS to turn over numbers and the department settled.
Steve Delie from the Mackinac Center says that the public has a right to know how many people in these facilities that house the elderly have passed away from COVID-19.
Facilities that have fewer than 13 beds are not counted in the state’s data – and that includes adult foster care, homes for the aged, and skilled nursing facilities. If those were included, the number would be at least 30% higher.
It may all come down to the definition of long-term care facilities.
“It seems to be a lot of definitional fighting,” he said
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