Eric Fewster, BA, MSc, C.WEM, MCIWEM, CEnv, Independent Water & Environmental Manager, Salford, UK
A revised version of the document ‘Care homes strategy for Infection Prevention & Control of Covid-19 based on clear delineation of risk zones’ is now online (dated 20th October 2020). This is the latest update of this document which first went online on 18th April, and since then has been widely cited and discussed by organisations including the British Geriatric Society and the Care Quality Commission (England). It is available via the usual website: https://www.bushproof.com/care-homes-strategy-for-infection-prevention-control-of-covid-19-based-on-clear-delineation-of-risk-zones/.
Main areas updated:
- Two new sections on ventilation (sections 17 and 21), which introduces the importance of mechanical ventilation in care home communal areas (possibly supplemented with HEPA air filtration). We are very thankful to Alex Mikszewski (The City University of New York Building Performance Lab) and Giorgio Buonanno (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy) who engaged with us to come up with a practical decision tool (in Excel) that care home managers can now use to plan what would be needed for adequate ventilation of communal spaces, based on their ongoing work on another modelling tool related to ventilation and airborne transmission (done in conjunction with the Queensland University of Technology). Ventilation is an increasing concern now that windows and doors get shut due to the colder weather, which is coinciding with an increase in community transmission. The direct link for the ventilation tool is here: https://www.bushproof.com/?smd_process_download=1&download_id=1658
- A link in section 11 to another supporting document summarising what we found out about non-chlorine disinfectants. The direct link for this document can be found here: https://www.bushproof.com/?smd_process_download=1&download_id=1660
- An update on the visitor guidance in section 7.
