Coronavirus: Checks to ensure care homes implementing measures begin

The health ministry on Saturday started carrying out checks in care homes on a pilot basis, a member of the government’s epidemiological team told the Cyprus Mail.

Dr Zoe Pana, advisor to the minister, along with an official from the health services, visited four nursing homes in Nicosia early on Saturday.

“There was expected differences among the different establishments,” Pana said.

The visits took place as part of the health service’s effort to advise care-home owners on the correct implementation of the health protocols to contain the spread of Covid-19.

“The owners showed willingness to discuss various problems and where there was room for improvement,” Pana added.

An issue occurred in the handling of elderly patients with breathing problems who need suctioning.

“Those people need special handling and we informed the staff how it must be done,” Pana said, adding that, just like in hospitals, nursing homes “must operate under the assumption residents are already carriers of the virus”.

The checks assess the proper cleaning, ventilation and disinfection of the spaces, whether the staff abide by personal hygiene rules, the living arrangements of the residents and the plan for operation in case there is a confirmed coronavirus case.

“We are watching how they are operating in real-time and we can intervene immediately,” Pana said.

“There is also the possibility of performing some training to care home staff online,” Pana said.

The checks are currently performed on a pilot basis to readjust the checklist that will be given to volunteer medical students once they have undergone their training.

As part of the efforts to contain the surge of cases in care homes, the health ministry on Saturday started the distribution of rapid tests to be carried out on employees and residents as a precautionary measure.

In November, about 250 elderly residents and another 60 employees of different nursing homes tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, about 30 per cent of the people treated at Famagusta refence hospital for coronavirus are elderly residents of care homes.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.