Eric Fewster, Independent Water & Environmental Manager, UK
This care homes strategy is based around a fundamental understanding of asymptomatic / pre-symptomatic transmission as a major contributor to the spread of COVID-19. Because of that, the authors stress strongly the importance of clear delineation of risk zones throughout the entire building, in order to reduce cross-contamination including from asymptomatic residents to whom ‘normal care’ might otherwise be given. This method of zoning (also known as ‘Traffic Control Bundling or TCB) is known to have greatly reduced infection within health care centres from previous SARS and Ebola outbreaks.
This is a revised version of the document dated 12th December 2020. Main areas updated are:
- Protocols for laundry updated and expanded (section 13)
- Updated recommendation on use of certain lateral flow tests as a primary barrier, and implications for visiting (sections 1 and 7)
- Section 15 on staff health updated
The full document is available here: