When the coronavirus pandemic hit the US, nursing homes became ground zero for the coronavirus.

By November, more than 60,000 nursing home residents had died of COVID-19, accounting for roughly a quarter of all fatalities nationwide.

Yet the nursing home industry had already struggled with chronic problems before the pandemic.

From allegations of systematic understaffing to toothless government oversight, Fault Lines examines what made residents and workers so vulnerable.

In When COVID Hit: America’s Nursing Home Nightmare, we report from California, one of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus.

Fault Lines meets relatives who accuse nursing homes of neglect - and asks if some facilities put profit before patients.

- Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish

- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera

- Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/