At least 75 care homes in Northern Ireland currently have confirmed coronavirus cases
NORTHERN Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) is currently managing confirmed and suspected outbreaks of Covid-19 in 110 care homes.
It said 75 were confirmed to have had the virus and the remaining 35 were suspected cases. Another 16 homes no longer had the virus, it was also revealed.
PHA chief executive Olive Macleod revealed the figures while giving evidence to Stormont’s Health Committee yesterday.
It met as it was revealed that 36 out of 38 residents at one Northern Ireland care home have tested positive for coronavirus.
BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan
Show also reported another nursing home where 29 residents out of 49 have tested positive and a third home where 36 residents out of 72 contracted the virus.
Meanwhile, 17 residents at Ringdufferin Nursing Home in Co Down have died since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Official statistics show there were 158 deaths of care home residents linked to the virus up to April 24.
And it has been claimed that up to 20 staff at Muckamore Abbey Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.
Ms Macleod was quizzed by MLAS on the rising number of infections in care homes here and whether that information is being shared with families. She said the PHA was satisfied that it is actively monitoring the situation within care homes every day, adding that every care home has a plan to deal with infections.
In total 16 care homes have had outbreaks concluded since the start of the pandemic while since March 16, 126 acute respiratory outbreaks have been reported to the PHA.
An outbreak will have concluded following a deep clean of a facility and 14 days after the last symptom of the disease with a resident, Ms Macleod explained.
She said: “All outbreaks must be reported to the Public Health Agency. Coronavirus is a reportable infection. On a daily basis every home must advise us if they believe they have patients with respiratory symptoms.
“If anybody has a respiratory illness they are swabbed. If there are two or more, everybody in the home is swabbed including staff.
“On a daily basis we monitor and speak to that home and provide them with advice and support until the outbreak is over.
“The outbreak is only over when it has been 14 days since the last symptom.
“That home must have a terminal clean and only then will it be declared free of Covid-19 and allowed to take new patients.”
Ms Macleod said where there is an outbreak within a care home this should be communicated by management to family members of the residents and that they cannot visit to limit the spread of infection.
“There is flu every year and families are notified and the way we contain any spread of infection is to contain visiting and making sure there are good infection controls in that home.”
Director of Public Health, Professor Hugo van Woerden told the committee that there is “intensive” communication between the PHA and more than 100 care homes across NI. He added that once an infection gets inside a home it is “remarkably difficult to eradicate because homes are built to be homely, rather than built to be fortresses”.