Affected staff and residents at Grace Lodge nursing home test negative for Covid-19; visits suspended until further notice
SINGAPORE – Staff and residents at the Grace Lodge nursing home who came into contact with an infected healthcare assistant have tested negative for Covid-19 thus far.
All visits will be suspended until further notice, but the nursing home will facilitate phone or video calls for families who wish to connect with their loved ones in the meantime, Grace Lodge management said in a media statement issued on Wednesday (June 2).
The home has also worked with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Agency for Integrated Care to put in additional precautionary measures, Grace Lodge added.
These include disinfecting affected areas and stepping up the use of personal protective equipment in those areas.
All affected staff and residents have tested negative so far, and further testing will be carried out where necessary, the nursing home said.
It will also suspend operations of other facilities located in the same building as the nursing home until Sunday.
The infected healthcare assistant was among 24 Covid-19 cases in the community reported by MOH on Wednesday.
She was asymptomatic and was detected when she was tested on Monday as part of surveillance testing for nursing home staff. She was fully vaccinated in February this year.
She is currently hospitalised at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Grace Lodge said that it has been enforcing the precautionary measures advised by MOH prior to the case.
These include adhering to daily caps on the number of visitors, enforcing TraceTogether-SafeEntry check-ins, conducting twice-daily temperature taking of all residents and staff, and implementing split zones to minimise the risk of cross transmission.
The home said it has also reiterated the importance of safe distancing and hand hygiene to all staff, and ensured that staff and visitors wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
“We will continue to be vigilant and monitor the health of all our residents and staff, along with enforcing the enhanced precautionary measures.”
Separately, a home for people with intellectual disability, MINDSville @ Napiri Adult Disability Home, has been detected as a cluster by MOH.
Twenty-seven cases have been linked to the cluster.
The home has stopped all admissions and the discharging of residents, prohibited all visitors and completed thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises.
All residents, staff and other close contacts, including clients, visitors and vendors, have been placed in quarantine and will be regularly tested.
Source: Read Full Article
