New safety regulations for elderly homes to combat outbreak of COVID-19

Government has issued new protocols aimed at protecting elderly home residents following the spike of COVID-19 cases.

The measures include more frequent swabbing tests on residents and carers, and temperature checks on workers twice a day. Other measures include mandatory 14-day quarantine for new residents.

The new regulations try to curb the spread of the coronavirus in elderly homes, after clusters were recorded in at least four homes over the past few weeks.

Malta has experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases with a record 106 registered yesterday. One of the clusters that has contributed to the surge has been elderly homes.

In view of these developments, the Social Care Standards Authority and the Family Ministry have released new regulations to minimise the risk of virus transmission in elderly homes.

New measures:

• Staff members and residents will be swabbed more frequently, while workers will have their temperature taken twice daily
• Staff have been urged to be responsible in their personal life
• Staff members have to be wearing a mask during the entirety of their shift
• The Influenza vaccine will be made available for residents and staff members
•  When residents are being swabbed for the COVID-19 virus, the elderly home must notify family members during the whole process
• New residents must be quarantined for 14 days, while residents who return to their home after spending some time in hospital must quarantine for five days
• Residents who have an appointment at the outpatients department do not need to quarantine, but the home must ensure that the necessary controls are in place so that symptoms recorded immediately
• On visits, government said visitors must abide by the home’s regulation, and if someone feels sick one must refrain from visiting
• Visitors must wear masks at all times, and ensure that no physical contact is carried out with residents. Social distancing must be respected, and communication must be carried out behind a Perspex sheet
• Hand sanitisation must be carried out before and after the visit, while the visiting area must be sanitized between visists
• Government has also said that elderly homes must be equipped with the necessary technologies to enable virtual communication between residents and their family members
• Food must be brought in a container which can be sanitized
• Residents must stay with their group and not allowed to mingle with others from different wards or floors, so that the ‘bubble concept’ is kept
• An area for hairdressing must be outlined by the home, with such an area having adequate space for social distancing