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Asymptomatic Testing At Nursing Homes Will Be Key In Preventing Coronavirus Spread

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Kaia Findlay
Published May 26, 2020 at 12:06 PM EDT
Nursing homes are a hotspot for spreading the coronavirus as workers and short-term patients move in and out. Widespread asymptomatic testing and protection for workers could prevent a second wave from sparking in nursing homes.
Nursing homes are a hotspot for spreading the coronavirus as workers and short-term patients move in and out. Widespread asymptomatic testing and protection for workers could prevent a second wave from sparking in nursing homes.
Nursing homes are a hotspot for spreading the coronavirus as workers and short-term patients move in and out. Widespread asymptomatic testing and protection for workers could prevent a second wave from sparking in nursing homes.
Credit PJ Johnson
Nursing homes are a hotspot for spreading the coronavirus as workers and short-term patients move in and out. Widespread asymptomatic testing and protection for workers could prevent a second wave from sparking in nursing homes.

Nursing homes are hotspots for spreading the coronavirus. Long-term residents can more easily stay isolated from family and friends, but workers and short-term patients travel in and out of nursing home communities. Many may be asymptomatic, unknowingly providing an opportunity for the virus to enter and exit vulnerable communities. 

Host Frank Stasio talks with Don Taylor, a professor of public policy at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, about the need to focus coronavirus testing in nursing homes to curb the spread of the virus.

As of Tuesday, May 26, North Carolina nursing homes have seen at least 2,978 coronavirus cases and 406 deaths, and there have been at least 614 cases and 57 deaths at residential care facilities, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Don Taylor, a professor of public policy at Duke University, who researches aging and health systems. Taylor speaks about the need for federally funded widespread asymptomatic testing in order to curb the transmission of the virus. Taylors says the state is responsible for figuring out how to carry out testing, while private institutions must determine the best testing tools.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Kaia Findlay
Kaia Findlay is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show. Kaia grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a household filled with teachers and storytellers. In elementary school, she usually fell asleep listening to recordings of 1950s radio comedy programs. After a semester of writing for her high school newspaper, she decided she hated journalism. While pursuing her bachelor’s in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, she got talked back into it. Kaia received a master’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism, where she focused on reporting and science communication. She has published stories with Our State Magazine, Indy Week, and HuffPost. She most recently worked as the manager for a podcast on environmental sustainability and higher education. Her reporting passions include climate and the environment, health and science, food and women’s issues. When not working at WUNC, Kaia goes pebble-wrestling, takes long bike rides, and reads while hammocking.
See stories by Kaia Findlay