COVID-19 and policies for care homes in the first wave of the pandemic:evidence from five European welfare states

Mary Daly, Marga León, Birgit Pfau-Effinger, Costanzo Ranci and Tine Rostgaard examine COVID-19 and residential care for older people during the first wave of the pandemic in Denmark, England, Germany, Italy and Spain. Their analysis shows a clear cross-national clustering: Denmark and Germany group together by virtue of the proactive approach adopted, whereas England, Italy, and Spain had major weaknesses resulting in delayed and generally inadequate responses. They show that this clustering is embedded in particular long-term care policy systems that predated the pandemic.