⁍ In the past three weeks, cases have gone from about 2,000 to some 4,800 at Florida nursing homes.

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⁍ Approximately 2,550 long-term care residents and staff have died overall, accounting for about 45% of all virus deaths in Florida.

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⁍ Florida recorded 173 new coronavirus deaths Thursday, a daily high that pushed its toll from the pandemic to more than 5,500.

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– The MERS-CoV outbreak has claimed more than 5,500 lives across the US, with almost half of those in nursing homes. Florida has seen the most deaths, with 2,550, accounting for 45% of all such deaths in the state, the AP reports. In the past three weeks, cases have jumped from 2,000 to 4,800 nursing homes. Deaths inside nursing homes have also been on the rise, averaging about 40 per day in the last week after those numbers had dropped in mid-June to lower than 20 deaths per day. About 180 out of every 10,000 long-term care facility residents have died so far in Florida, a toll that is still far lower than some northeastern states, which saw deaths surge at the height of the pandemic in March and April. New York had about 400 deaths per 10,000 nursing home residents and New Jersey more than 1,100. Florida has set up dedicated isolation facilities for nursing home residents who have been discharged from a hospital yet still continue to test positive for the virus, but those nearly 1,400 beds in about 20 facilities spread across the state likely aren’t enough, industry representatives said. Nursing homes with scant resources may feel pressured to set up isolation wards that they’re not fully equipped to create safely, said Dr. Paul Katz, chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University. “The more positive cases you get in nursing homes, the higher the risk of it spreading within the incredibly susceptible population of residents,” he said.