Five-star nursing homes have lower death rates from Covid-19 but higher death rates from other causes, apparently because some patients who are isolated for their own good are dying from loneliness, says a study by two economists from the University of Notre Dame.
“These homes exposed their residents to severe isolation in an attempt to prevent infection, subsequently leading to premature death by other causes,” says the study, a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by Christopher J. Cronin and LEO's William N. Evans.