FW: Introduction of COVID-19 into a long-term residential care facility in Washington resulted in cases among 81 residents, 34 staff members, and 14 visitors; 23 persons died.

[Glenys Harrington]

Hi All,

This paper came out overnight from the CDC in the USA (early release), first
publication I have seen in relation to an outbreak of COVID-19 in an aged
care facility. I have summarised some key points below:

Introduction of COVID-19 into a long-term residential care facility in
Washington resulted in cases among 81 residents, 34 staff members, and 14
visitors; 23 persons died.

….the survey and on-site visits identified factors that likely contributed
to the vulnerability of these facilities, including:

1) staff members who worked while symptomatic;

2) staff members who worked in more than one facility;

3) inadequate familiarity and adherence to standard, droplet, and contact
precautions and eye protection recommendations;

4) challenges to implementing infection control practices including
inadequate supplies of PPE and other items (e.g., alcohol-based hand
sanitizer);

5) delayed recognition of cases because of low index of suspicion, limited
testing availability, and difficulty identifying persons with COVID-19 based
on signs and symptoms alone.

In Washington, local and state authorities implemented comprehensive
prevention measures for long-term care facilities (7-9) that included:

1) implementation of symptom screening and restriction policies for visitors
and nonessential personnel;

2) active screening of health care personnel, including measurement and
documentation of body temperature and ascertainment of respiratory symptoms
to identify and exclude symptomatic workers;

3) symptom monitoring of residents;

4) social distancing, including restricting resident movement and group
activities;

5) staff training on infection control and PPE use; and 6) establishment of
plans to address local PPE shortages, including county and state
coordination of supply chains and stockpile releases to meet needs.

These strategies require coordination and support from public health
authorities, partnering health care systems, regulatory agencies, and their
respective governing bodies (8-10). The findings in this report suggest that
once COVID-19 has been introduced into a long-term care facility, it has the
potential to result in high attack rates among residents, staff members, and
visitors.

COVID-19 in a Long-Term Care Facility – King County, Washington, February
27-March 9, 2020

Early Release / March 18, 2020 / 69

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e1.htm?s_cid=mm6912e1_e
&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM23064

Regards

Glenys

Glenys Harrington

Consultant

Infection Control Consultancy (ICC)

P.O. Box 6385

Melbourne

Australia, 3004

M: +61 404816434

E: infexion@ozemail.com.au

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