Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

Covid-19: Strategic Options for Government Plan to Eliminate Community Transmission

Dr. Kirsten Schaffer:

We would never be able to achieve 100% protection but it is really important to highlight that the position in respect of nursing homes now is totally different from what it was in March and April. We now test for asymptomatic healthcare workers and we use universal personal protective equipment, including universal mask use. We are in a much better position to try to keep Covid-19 at least at bay in nursing homes, if not completely out of them. Even if there is an infected healthcare worker, as long as he or she adheres to infection prevention and control measures, it would be very unlikely for the virus to be transmitted to a resident. It is a much better position but we cannot say that 100% infection prevention can be achieved. That is not possible.

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