In an effort to shield nursing homes from new COVID cases, state focuses on short-term residents Yehyun Kim :: ctmirror.org Residents at Beechwood, a nursing home in New London, have lunch together in a dining room while social distancing. Four months ago, even as the coronavirus vaccine was making its way to Connecticut and the promise of protection drew close to reality, nursing homes were weathering another increase in COVID-19 cases. Testing inside the facilities was accelerating, special recovery centers for COVID-positive residents were taking on more patients, and illnesses among employees meant that many buildings were short-staffed. In December, 70 to 80 nursing home residents were dying per week. By the end of that month, more than 100 fatalities were recorded some weeks.