Although I hate over reacting and media driven panic. It can’t hurt to be ready.
From :Broward County Health Department
Dear Long Term Care Facility,
Older populations and people with underlying health issues appear to be at increased risk from the novel coronavirus COVID-19. While we have no cases in Florida, we believe it is important that long-term care facilities begin planning now and ensuring they have protocols in place for a pandemic scenario. Specific actions include:
Criteria and protocols for closing units or the entire facility to new admissions when the pandemic virus is in the facility
Criteria and protocols for enforcing visitor limitations
A plan for cohorting symptomatic residents or groups
An occupational health plan for addressing staff absences
Plans for increased cleaning of common surfaces
The linked checklist is an excellent resource for long-term care and other residential facilities to assist them with pandemic planning. While the document references influenza, coronavirus is a respiratory disease and most of the same activities apply.
Link:https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/pdf/longtermcare.pdf
