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Federal regulators said they plan to temporarily halt routine inspections of nursing homes to focus on the most dangerous situations, as coronavirus cases mount in the facilities across the U.S. and serious infractions were found at the hardest-hit location. Under the changes, regular inspections of nursing homes, home health and hospice companies, among others, will be paused for at least three weeks. During that time, inspectors will emphasize controlling infections, and focus on facilities at risk from the new coronavirus and those with potential issues posing the most peril to residents. (Wilde Mathews and Kamp, 3/23)

Nursing homes, hospitals and other providers will also have access to a voluntary self-assessment the CMS created to ensure they're correctly screening staff members, practicing good hygiene and following other precautions necessary for controlling the spread of COVID-19. (Brady, 3/23)

There are 147 nursing homes across 27 states that have at least one resident with the coronavirus, exposing seniors who are “more susceptible to dangerous complications from the virus,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in releasing the new data Monday. CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined the high rate of COVID-19 fatalities at the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, the epicenter of the outbreak in the state. At least 35 residents or staff of Life Care have died from the virus, CMS said. (Higgins-Dunn, 3/23)

It seemed a curious day for the Life Care Center to throw a Mardi Gras party. For one thing, Feb. 26 was actually Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras. More crucially, the nursing home was under orders to be in scrub-down mode due to a raft of respiratory problems among its residents. That same day, managers had ordered staff members to close the two dining rooms immediately, wipe down all common spaces and halt group activities. (Koh, Kamp and Frosch, 3/23)

Scam artists are preying on older people’s fears by peddling fake tests for the coronavirus to Medicare recipients, a federal law enforcement agency warned on Monday. And moving separately on another law enforcement priority, President Donald Trump signed an order directing a crackdown on large-scale hoarding that’s intended to create shortages of critical goods and drive prices up. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/23)