Kirkland

The U.S. death toll has doubled since May. Some experts predict it could nearly double again before 2020 ends. "We are experiencing a tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering," one researcher says.

The number of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases more than doubled in the first eight days of April. Nursing and assisted-living centers in Bellingham, Coupeville, Everett, Kennewick, Kirkland, Richland and Shoreline have each reported at least 25 COVID-19 cases

"Case fatality rates have been very confusing," says Dr. Steven Lawrence, an infectious disease expert. Here's why.

More than 30 residents and employees of a Bellingham nursing facility have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting officials to take steps to avoid a deadly scenario that played out in Kirkland, Washington's Life Care Center.

As more nursing facilities in Washington report cases of coronavirus, the death toll at Life Care serves as an example of the vulnerability of the elderly in the growing pandemic.