DOJ PROBING STATES THAT ADMITTED COVID PATIENTS TO NURSING HOMES

The Department of Justice is asking for data from states that required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients that the department alleges "may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents." The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is also considering whether to begin investigations under the federal "Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act."

a group of people wearing costumes: Medical officials aid a residents from St. Joseph's nursing home to board a bus, after a number of residents tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Woodbridge, New Jersey© STEFAN JEREMIAH/REUTERS Medical officials aid a residents from St. Joseph's nursing home to board a bus, after a number of residents tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Woodbridge, New Jersey

In New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, the states' governors issued orders preventing nursing homes from refusing COVID-19 patients entry, despite the vulnerable populations in nursing homes.

But New York has pointed out that their actions did not violate the federal government's own guidelines.

A March 13 memo from the Centers for Disease Control reads, "A nursing home can accept a resident diagnosed with COVID-19 and still under Transmission Precautions for COVID19 as long as the facility