Poll of older adults finds broad support for having nursing homes allow virtual visits

A new AARP poll of U.S. adults aged 50 and over finds overwhelming support for video visitation for those in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have disproportionately been affected by Covid-19, and many have shut their doors to visitors as a result. In the poll, 96% of the nearly 2,800 respondents supported having these care facilities enable video visitation so residents could still keep in contact with family. Overwhelming majorities also expressed support for these facilities having to disclose any Covid-19 infections to family members and a tax credit for those who serve as caregivers for a family member.

At the same time, another poll of nearly 23,000 people across all 50 U.S. states finds that while older individuals are about as likely as those younger than 45 to be concerned about getting the coronavirus, they were much less likely than younger individuals to be concerned about a family member getting Covid-19.