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Everything About the Suspended Visits to Residential Care Homes

2021-09-13 , 9:45 am

In addition to keeping us away from bubble tea and hot meals outdoors, the coronavirus seems to enjoy keeping people apart.

Border measures have forced some lovers to enter long-distance relationships, while lockdowns have prevented us from visiting relatives we used to see on a daily basis.

Reader: That was actually a good thing

While we’ve opened up and can make one social visit a day now, the authorities need to ensure that those who are most vulnerable to the disease are protected.

And sadly, this means separating them from their loved ones for a while.

Visits to Residential Care Homes Suspended

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the suspension of all in-person visits to residential care homes for four weeks from 13 Sep to 11 Oct.

The move was prompted by the discovery of 42 COVID-19 cases across 18 aged care facilities in the past two weeks.

And with cases expected to rise further, the ministry said it needed to take action to protect the vulnerable seniors at these facilities.

A similar ban on physical visits to residential care facilities was imposed in June this year during Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).

Ramping up Testing

MOH said it will also be ramping up testing for both staff and residents of aged-care facilities.

This includes frequent antigen rapid tests, which will complement the surveillance testing regime currently in place.

Suspension Buys Time For Seniors to Get Vaccinated

While the main aim of the suspension is to prevent further coronavirus spread to these facilities, it will also buy time for unvaccinated seniors to get inoculated.

MOH urged family members and relatives of unvaccinated seniors in aged care facilities to get vaccinated as well to protect their loved ones, pointing out that they’re more at risk of severe illness if infected.

Understand the importance of vaccination here:

Booster Shots

From tomorrow (14 Sep), three groups of vulnerable residents will be invited to sign up for their COVID-19 booster shots.

Besides seniors aged 60 and above and moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals, residents of aged care facilities will be invited to register for their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

To be eligible, these individuals must already have completed their full vaccination regimen with two doses at least six months ago.

The invitation will be sent to the same number that they had used to register for their earlier doses.

Once they receive the invitation, they can book an appointment here.

Getting the booster shot will ensure that vaccinated seniors have a “continued high level of immunity and protection from severe disease,” the ministry said.