Nursing homes in Delaware County and nationwide are a hotbed for COVID-19, and low wages for employees might be one of the reasons why, according to an Editorial Board report for Bloomberg.

Around 75 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths in Delaware County are residents of local long-term care facilities. The situation is similar in all 50 states, where coronavirus has spread to nearly 7,000 nursing homes.

There are several reasons why the virus has hit nursing homes so hard. These include factors such as senior citizens being more susceptible to COVID-19 and viruses spreading more easily in crowded environments.

However, another factor is low-paid care workers who often have to take jobs in several facilities which can spread the virus from one facility to another.

So as a temporary solution, some nursing homes have been requesting that long-term-care employees work at only one facility, relying on the government bills that are working their way through Congress to help workers get by.

The long-term solution would probably entail raising the pay of care workers to ensure they can survive on one job alone.

Read more about the issue at Bloomberg by clicking here.

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