New York Governor Cuomo brings in new rules for nursing homes after they are hit hard by pandemic - including twice-weekly tests for staff and ban on accepting COVID-19 patients from hospital

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has  announced new protections for residents of nursing homes against coronavirus, after it was revealed that a fifth of all virus deaths in such facilities were in New York state.

All nursing home staff must now be tested twice a week for the virus and hospitals may not discharge any infected patient to a nursing home until the patient tests negative, Cuomo said. 

Residents are being tested as much as possible, he said. 

If a nursing home cannot provide proper care, the patient must be transferred to the state, which he said has ample available hospital beds.

Of the nation´s more than 26,600 coronavirus deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a fifth of them - over 5,350 - are in New York, according to a count by The Associated Press.  

That's the highest number of nursing home deaths in the country, though other states have also struggled to control the virus in nursing facilities. Indeed, they account for a higher percentage of coronavirus deaths in most other states, Cuomo said.

Critics have faulted New York for taking weeks to release the number of deaths in individual homes, for still not releasing the number of cases and for not conducting or requiring widespread testing in the facilities.

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured) announced new protections on Sunday for residents of nursing homes, which have accounted for a large percentage of the almost 80,000 coronavirus deaths recorded across the country

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Cuomo's new rules require nursing home staff tested twice a week for COVID-19. Hospitals may not discharge any infected patient to a nursing home until the patient tests negative, Cuomo said. Paramedics attend to nursing home patient this past week in Harlem

A March 25 state health department directive had said nursing homes couldn't refuse new or returning residents because they tested positive for the virus. The policy, similar to one in neighboring New Jersey, was intended to help free up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases surged.

But that has now been overturned.

'We´re just not going to send a person who is positive to a nursing home after a hospital visit,' Cuomo said Sunday. He said such patients would be accommodated elsewhere, such as sites originally set up as temporary hospitals.

The new policy still allows nursing homes to take some people with COVID-19, such as those who are at home and need care. 

But hospitals are responsible for finding alternatives for the patients they discharge, and nursing facilities shouldn't take on coronavirus patients if unable to care for them, Cuomo said.

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If a nursing home cannot provide proper care, the patient must be transferred to the state, which he said has ample available hospital beds. A nursing home patient is wheeled out of Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation this past week

The Democrat also emphasized that nursing homes should transfer any person they can´t care for.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death.

'Our number one priority is protecting people in nursing homes,' Cuomo said. 'It's where it (COVID-19) feeds.'  

While the elderly are most at risk from the virus, New York is also investigating up to 85 cases of children with a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the infection. 

So far three children, who also tested positive for the novel coronavirus, have died in New York from the illness and two more deaths are under investigation, Cuomo said.

The syndrome shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which can include inflammation of the blood vessels and potentially fatal damage to the heart.

Despite much remaining unknown about the coronavirus and the failure so far to find any effective treatment or vaccine, nearly all 50 US states were taking steps to relax lockdown measures this weekend.

While New York continues to see declines in key metrics -- with hospitalizations on Sunday falling to their lowest since March 20 -- many states including Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas are recording rising numbers of cases even as they move to reopen their economies.

In addition to the loss of life, Americans are facing a devastating economic toll underscored by government data released on Friday showing the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 14.7 per cent last month, up from 3.5 per cent in February and shattering the post-World War Two record of 10.8 per cent set in November 1982.

The coronavirus has also penetrated the White House, where two staff members tested positive in recent days. As a result, three of the most senior officials guiding the US response to the pandemic have gone into self-quarantine.The White House has started informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about next steps on coronavirus relief legislation, officials said on Sunday, but they stressed any new federal money would come with conditions.

Anthony Fauci, a high-profile member of the White House coronavirus taskforce, is considered to be at relatively low risk based on the degree of his exposure. Also quarantining are Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.

Former President Barack Obama, who has largely kept out of the fray even as Trump has blamed him for problems with the country's preparedness, on Friday called Trump's handling of the pandemic an 'absolute chaotic disaster' during a conference call with former members of his Democratic administration, according to a source.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Trump's response to the coronavirus 'has been unprecedented' and has saved American lives.