Methodist Homes for the Aged and Rand Aid Association have implemented and stringent measures to protect elderly residents against Covid-19.
Methodist Homes, with about 2 000 residents and 8oo staff members at its 12 retirement homes in Gauteng and three in the North West Province, said it has not recorded any Covid-19 cases.
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“To date all our residents, management and staff are Covid-19 free,” said Methodist Homes’ nursing services manager, Estelle du Toit.
“While the new coronavirus affects people of all ages, statistics are showing that older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions, such as asthma, are at a significantly increased risk of being infected.”
“Our residents are adhering to the regulations, the morale amongst security, care workers, nurses and management remains high and our nine care centres have all been running well.”
She confirmed that all the care centres have isolation wards.
“If any resident has to leave the village for any reason such as going to hospital for example, they are placed in 14-day isolation immediately upon their return,” she said.
“This is a precautionary measure we have implemented.
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Rand Aid Association
Measures already implemented were strengthened to protect the residents and staff of Rand Aid’s retirement villages, care centres and substance abuse treatment centre from infection, including restricting non-essential visitor access.
“As older persons face increased risks of complications from Covid-19, it was critical for Rand Aid to respond with urgency and the seriousness required,” said Peter Quinn, CEO Rand Aid.
“Frailty, underlying medical conditions and comorbidity, which is the presence of more than one disorder in the same person, increase the risks of older persons getting critically ill from the virus,” said Dr Carmella Mielke, who practises at Rand Aid’s Elphin Lodge Complex.
“Anyone over 65 is considered high risk by the World Health Organisation,” she said.
“It is for these reasons that we are taking the pandemic very seriously. While some of the measures we have implemented may be restrictive and inconvenient, they are very necessary if we are to minimise the impact of the virus on the Rand Aid community,” said Peter.
Measures will be assessed on a weekly basis and adapted based on medical advice.
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