INDIANAPOLIS — Updated statistics released by the Indiana State Department of Health on Monday added 160 deaths among nursing home residents to the previous statewide total released a week earlier.
The new tallies show 420 COVID-19 nursing home resident deaths, or about 36% of the 1,151 total statewide deaths. The statistics, however, don’t specify when the newly reported nursing home deaths occurred.
Most the nursing home deaths had been previously reported in the overall total of statewide deaths. The state reported 19 new deaths in its Monday report.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and state health officials have refused to identify nursing homes with outbreaks, despite complaints from relatives of home residents about a lack of communication about illnesses and deaths. State officials maintain those facilities face federal and state requirements to notify the families about their COVID-19 status.
