It can be challenging to stay up to date with all the developments of the spread of COVID-19 through America. It’s happening rapidly and is of significant concern to our senior citizens. From what we know about COVID-19, is that as we go further up in age, we see more substantial risk and higher mortality. Eighty percent of deaths from the virus have been among people age 65 or older. This presents a grave concern for many seniors who find themselves amid a pandemic like we’ve never seen.
The virus spreads through respiratory droplets, and these only go as far as about 6 feet in the air. Due to this, everyone’s been encouraged to maintain distance from each other and isolate as much as possible. But certain population groups don’t have this luxury, such as those in jails, treatment centers, shelters, and even senior living facilities or retirement communities. These by nature consist of many people living in a small, communal setting. As we know, this is less than ideal when it comes to infectious diseases, and COVID-19 is no exception.
COVID-19 is particularly hard on those with underlying conditions. Cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses make a person even more likely to become seriously ill with the virus and increase mortality risk.
This compounds the risk for seniors, who often have other health conditions like these. Combined with the likelihood that a senior citizen will be in a group living situation, and you can see why there’s so much concern.
And the concern is warranted. Headlines are becoming full of bad news from retirement homes, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. In Connecticut, 16 people recently tested positive for COVID-19 at an assisted living facility after two people recently died there. In Vermont, 4 of the state’s five deaths from the virus have all been from one nursing home. And in Jacksonville, 14 long term care residents have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of March 23rd. Because of the close quarters, the virus seems to be wreaking havoc on these types of facilities.
Another factor is that many seniors who choose to live in retirement communities are “snowbirds” or have second homes in other climates where they want to vacation. They may travel, be exposed to the virus, then return to the community without knowing they contracted it. This can lead to individuals spreading it before any symptoms are present, and infecting others.
On March 13th, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, issued new measures to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19. But have they helped? Based on the latest recommendations from the CDC. Most importantly, this includes restricting all visitors (except for compassionate care for those who are dying). It also suggests limiting all volunteers and non-essential staff (such as barbers), canceling of all group activities and communal dining, and active screening of residents who display symptoms such as fever and cough. The memorandum includes instructions for protective wear and cleaning supplies and procedures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The CDC advises procedures for residents of retirement communities and independent living facilities as well, to follow to protect themselves, such as proper handwashing protocols and staying away from others as much as possible.
It also includes specific instructions for administration workers and owners, as well as visitors, workers, and volunteers. They’ve included checklists, which can be followed to help ensure all possible measures are being taken and nothing left out.
One facility in Virginia preemptively instituted its restrictions on March 12th after hearing about cases nearby. They shut the gates, restricted visitors from coming in, and residents from going out. They started screening everyone with thermometers and instituted a quarantine of all residents for 14 days. And they still wound up with a case of COVID-19. But how? A couple had returned from out of state vacation a few days prior, and one of them had unknowingly brought the virus in with them before the lockdown. But they isolated the victim rapidly and used effective measures to prevent the spread. Since then, they’ve had no further cases.
This trend mirrors the national epidemic and the misleading nature of the COVID-19 virus. There’s such a lag between transmission and symptoms that you never really know what you’re dealing with. But what the above facility did was a perfect example of how to act. Even if you have zero cases, clamping down and preventing infection is the right move.
If a case crops up, handle it effectively and swiftly to protect everyone. This facility likely saved many lives by doing this.
While it’s easy to get spooked, the wrong thing to do in a situation like this is panic and go somewhere else. Imagine if when a case cropped up in a retirement community, all the residents up and left. They would be taking the virus with them and spreading it elsewhere without knowing it.
This is precisely how a pandemic occurs, just on a smaller scale. Despite how difficult it may seem, the right thing to do is stay put and follow the guidelines issued by experts that apply to your situation.
Does this mean the senior living facilities and communities are doomed? No, it doesn’t. If you think about it from a different perspective, these places had as good a chance as anywhere else to stay protected. Perhaps even better. Rewind to before the virus stuck; you have a community that is exclusive and only allows certain people to live there. At one point, all these people didn’t have the virus. With forward-thinking and proper precaution, they were well set up to avoid contact entirely and remain virtual safe havens. The vectors from which the virus enters are mostly the workers and visitors of these communities. Essentially, those who leave and come back-in frequently. With this known and narrowed down, prevention becomes an easier task than in a city or other porous community.
Let’s hope that all senior living facilities and communities take proper precautions and follow the successful example set, as well as the CDC recommendations. Only places that are late to act or don’t act at all are in grave danger.
Residents should stay put and not travel, isolating as much as possible. Visitation must cease. Workers should trim down to the bare minimum, with those taking extra precautions when leaving the facility and proper screening upon reentry. And all personal preventative measures such as handwashing and sanitizing must be in full effect. Given these actions, seniors can significantly increase their safety and chances of surviving this pandemic.