[ad_1]
CITY DIRECTOR: Kenneth A. Johannessen in Indre Østfold Municipality. Photo: Gabriel Aas Skålevik
The municipality of Indre Østfold has decided to require a negative coronation test from relatives who want to visit the residents of the asylum. Employees must submit a negative test every ten days.
City Health Director Kenneth A. Johannessen made the decision to tighten infection control for nursing home residents on Friday morning.
– We do this preventively. We have not had infected residents, but we want nursing homes to be sure that visitors are infection free. The greatest risk of becoming infected in a nursing home is through employees or visitors with few or no symptoms bringing the virus. We have always said that we must do everything in our power to avoid infecting the most vulnerable. If that happens, we won’t see later that we didn’t do enough to prevent it, says Johannessen.
– Will require a test for visitors who are not older than three days. Isn’t it intrusive for family members who want to visit loved ones at an already difficult time?
– It is precisely to be able to stay open safely that we now do this. The pressure of infection around us is great. We have many family members who come to visit us from the Oslo area and many students who are returning home from other parts of the country now. We are entering a Christmas holiday and the situation with us and the neighboring municipalities is characterized by high contagion pressure. When the situation is the way it is, I think most people understand that the number 1 priority is making sure no one gets the infection without being aware of it, says Johannessen.
See the development of the infection in Indre Østfold through the pandemic:
– The background is the high infection pressure.
The decision to conduct mass and periodic testing of nursing home employees was made Thursday night. The decision to require a negative test from the relatives was made this morning in consultation with the municipal chief doctors.
– Have you had any infection inside nursing homes?
– We have had a case of infection among 700 employees. It was discovered after an outbreak in one of the schools. Among the students with a positive test, there was one who had no symptoms. The student’s close contacts were tested. A family member who worked in a nursing home was also infected. The person also had no obvious symptoms. It shows what the route of infection can be towards nursing homes, says Johannessen.
Exceptions for family groups
Family members who are elderly, in poor health, do not have a driver’s license and live remotely, will not be required to undergo coronation prior to visits.
– We also exclude family members who are not working. We have relatives who are retired and visit close relatives several times a week at the nursing home. They post this test requirement. But now there will come a time when, for example, many students travel home for Christmas and may visit their grandparents in nursing homes. They must present a negative coronation test, says the municipal director.
– How do you expect this to be received by family members and residents?
– This is completely new, but I have the experience that people understand that it is important to protect the residents of the nursing home. We have experienced significant support for intervention measures. At Indre Østfold, we want to keep society as open as possible. Now it’s three weeks before Christmas. Christmas is also important in nursing homes. The worst that can happen now is that we relax on the fly and think the vaccine will come soon. We don’t want the Christmas break to be ruined because family members did not take that exam prior to the nursing home visit.
Indre Østfold has five retirement homes with 310 beds. In addition, they have a health center with twelve places. In total, they have around 700 employees.
– This week we had a restraining order. But we reopen for visits on Monday. Then the new test regime also applies.
All 700 employees must request proof themselves and submit it every ten days.
– We are implementing employee testing now. Expired message. The background is the high infectious pressure in the municipality and the region. We have a very good test plan and they can be requested when it suits the individual employee, says Johannessen.
– Rare visitors should get tested
The chief infection control physician, Barbro Kvaal, says the municipality still has new infected people. A school in Askim is closed, but will open next week.
– We have an imported infection. People have been in companies here and there. We have had infections from Drammen, from Ski and between close contacts, says Kvaal.
CONFIDENCE IN THE VISITORS: Chief Infection Control Physician Barbro Kvaal together with Mayor Saxe Frøshaug. Photo: Gabriel Aas Skålevik
She is aware that especially those who rarely visit the nursing home should be tested.
– Our priority is not to infect nursing homes. We can manage employees, but not family members in the same way. We are not so afraid of infection from those who visit us frequently. It is rather an infection of those who are rare in the nursing home that we fear. For example, if you are a student, come home for Christmas and want to visit your grandmother in the nursing home, it is a good idea to take an exam. Which we highly recommend you do, says Kvaal.
– Now we present the guidelines. They rarely hit everyone well, but we’ll adjust over time, he says.
Mayor Saxe Frøshaug (Sp) says he has every confidence that visitors will follow the requirements that the municipality is now introducing.
– We see too many examples now, of infections entering nursing homes, often with fatal consequences. We want to avoid that, says the mayor.
GREAT MUNICIPALITY: The municipality of Indre Østfold has the Swedish border to the east and the Oslo region to the northwest. The potential for infection is great. Georg Smedhus is a councilor. Photo: Gabriel Aas Skålevik
– See that the infection comes from outside
VG is not aware that other municipalities have the same strict testing regime for employees in their nursing homes.
Nor is it known that other municipalities have required family members to document a negative coronary test before being admitted with sick elderly relatives.
– Won’t this be perceived as too intrusive?
– There are more and more outbreaks of infections in nursing homes with tragic results. We see that the infection comes from outside through employees. It can also come from family members without symptoms. The health director said Thursday that we should expect more infections and more deaths in our nursing homes as a result of the high infection rates in society. We have said that we will do everything in our power to keep him away. These are not just empty words, says Johannessen.
Learn more: Indre Østfold closed the municipality to stop the virus
EARLY: Indre Østfold had the test station ready at the beginning of the pandemic. Photo: Hanna Kristin Hjardar, VG
Several major eruptions
Indre Østfold established an effective trial regime even before Norway closed on March 12.
The municipality had an uncontrolled outbreak of infection especially among young adults around the turn of July-August. Among other things, massive tests of 800 students were carried out over the course of three days.
The outbreak was observed in connection with the opening of the border with Sweden in late July and social gatherings in good weather, including a concert in Askim.
EFFICIENT: In August, Indre Østfold assessed 800 students over three days. It was organized as a “drive-in” station where the test took very little time. Photo: Odin Jæger
The outbreak was quelled after the massive detection of the infection and the “closure” by the municipality. Indre Østfold is a merger of Trøgstad, Eidsberg, Askim, Spydeberg and Hobøl with 45,000 inhabitants.
When the infection spread in the large Sarpsborg outbreak in August, Indre Østfold was also affected.
Both outbreaks were effectively stopped in a short time. Subsequently, both municipal doctor Barbro Kvaal and councilor Georg Smedhus have participated in digital conferences under the auspices of county governors and shared their experiences with other municipalities.
