Nursing homes may return to 'window visits'
Visiting through windows will still be permitted but advocacy group Care Champions says families have raised concerns about nursing homes ignoring updated guidance. File picture: Getty Creative Images
Nursing homes may see a return to 'window visits' as new HSE guidance means visitors must present a Covid-19 vaccination certificate from Monday.
Those wishing to visit loved ones should also have a valid form of photo ID with them to prove that the cert shown belongs to them.
However, the guidance provides some exemptions on compassionate grounds.
Visiting through windows will still be permitted, but advocacy group Care Champions says families have raised concerns about nursing homes ignoring updated guidance. The group said some nursing homes have unnecessarily banned outdoor and window visits in recent weeks.
"There is absolutely no justification for such draconian measures, 18 months into the pandemic," the group said.
Responding to the new guidance, Sage Advocacy, which provides support and advocacy services to older people, vulnerable adults, and healthcare patients, said residents should be given the choice to meet someone who is unvaccinated or not.
"If a resident was living in their own home, they would be able to have any visitors they wanted regardless of their vaccination status," said executive director Sarah Lennon.
Ms Lennon called for the Government to legally protect the right of nursing home residents to have visitors. There is no reason why new regulations cannot be enacted at the same speed as they were in the case of nightclubs, she said.
The timing of the change in regulations was interesting, Ms Lennon said, as the booster programme has almost wrapped up and the rollout of the third jab is well under way for staff as well.
Health officials have been at pains to remind people that while the vaccine provides a significant layer of protection, people still need to monitor their personal behaviours.
Being vaccinated offers protection against serious illness and hospitalisation, but vaccinated people can still get the virus.
Members of the public have been urged to rethink their social plans for the weekend as the number of cases remain high.
The latest data shows Carndonagh local electoral area (LEA) in Donegal has the highest rate of Covid-19 in the country. Almost one in every 50 people tested positive in the space of two weeks.
On Monday, the national 14-day incidence rate was 924 cases per 100,000 people. The second highest incidence rate was in the Manorhamilton LEA in Co Leitrim, at 1,811.
Five other LEAs also have rates of over 1,500: Drogheda Urban in Co Louth, Cahir in Co Tipperary, Lismore in Co Waterford, Arklow in Co Wicklow, and Drogheda Rural.
The area with the lowest incidence rate is again Belmullet, Co Mayo, at 198.
In Cork, 10 LEAs have an incidence rate above the national average, with Mallow recording the highest rate at 1,320 per 100,000.
