Naxxar Elderly Care Home Stops Relative Visits Over COVID-19 Fears
A Naxxar elderly care home has temporarily isolated residents indoors and banned relatives from visiting after some residents tested positive for COVID-19.
Simblija Care Home told Lovin Malta that after some residents felt unwell and tested positive for COVID-19, it decided to implement “evidence-based preventive measures to reduce the risk of cross-infection and transmission of infection to ensure the safety of all our residents population entrusted in our care”.
“We have informed all our residents and their families of all preventive actions implemented which includes an isolation period to prevent further cases from arising,” a spokesperson for the home said.
“With over two years of managing the challenges presented by the pandemic, the management team is working round the clock to ensure that all residents are given the required support and reassurance, whether in physical, mental or spiritual form.”
Residents who test positive for COVID-19 are forced to isolate for ten days, regardless of their vaccination status, with the home insisting it is following Social Care Standards Authority (SCSA) guidelines.
They are eligible for early release should they test negative for the virus on the seventh day from a positive test, granted they haven’t developed any symptoms over the past three days. Fully vaccinated “primary contact” residents who share the same room as people who test positive for the virus must also remain in quarantine for ten days.
Simblija’s drastic action came as a surprise to some people considering Malta scrapped all COVID-19 restrictions last year.
“I find it very unfair that I’m unable to visit my grandmother who is alone at Simblija,” a relative told Lovin Malta.
“She should have the right to leave and move around the premises as she wishes. It is the right of everyone else who lives with someone who tests positive, let alone my grandmother who doesn’t even share a room with this positive case.”
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