FRP believes that fully vaccinated nursing home residents must get more of their freedom back.
All the elderly in Oslo’s nursing homes are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, but there are still strict visiting rules and restrictions in the nursing homes.
Now the leader of the health and social committee in Oslo City Council, Aina Stenersen (Frp), demands that the city council make a plan for reopening the city’s nursing home.
– The nursing homes have been under strict restrictions for over a year now. There are several relatives who ask why the city council does not open up more when the elderly have been vaccinated, Stenersen says to Nettavisen.
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– Rained with hugs
The vaccination of the nursing home residents started already at Christmas last year. Over three months later, Stenersen believes it is high time to give the elderly more freedom.
– Now we have come to April, and then we had hoped that one could open up the nursing homes even more. Today, there are restrictions both on having to keep a distance of two meters, that you must have visitors to the rooms and preferably not have so much close contact, she says, and points out:
– We had expected that when you were fully vaccinated you could visit each other in the common areas, you could hug and be much freer than it has been until now.
– Many are upset
From 18 March, further tightening was also made, when the Nursing Homes Agency introduced restrictions for visitors to the nursing homes. The elderly are now allowed to have only two visitors at a time.
– We are critical of the fact that there are such strict restrictions when you are fully vaccinated, and that there are such strict restrictions for visitors and employees in nursing homes, says Stenersen.
She also calls for better information on why the city council does not open up more, and says that the restrictions upset many of the relatives.
– We have received a lot of requests from relatives, who are both upset and want to visit their mother, father and grandparents even more than they can do today. So there are many who react to it among the relatives in Oslo, she says.
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– Gets a mild course
– But six fully vaccinated residents at a nursing home in Sandnes are now infected with the coronavirus, and that one resident is dead. Doesn’t that show that one should still be very careful?
– Yes, I think you can be careful. But we had expected that you had opened more than you have done when you are, after all, fully vaccinated. One must of course take into account the infection situation, but in general we had seen that they opened more and had a plan for it, says Stenersen, and at the same time adds:
– We also see that some who have been vaccinated, but have been infected in nursing homes, also have a mild course of the disease. So the vaccination process is good.
She therefore hopes that the residents of the nursing homes will quickly have the opportunity to receive more family members visiting the common areas of the nursing homes.
The online newspaper has asked for a comment on the case from health councilor Robert Steen (Labor Party) in Oslo, but he has not yet had the opportunity.
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– Can squeeze a couple
Department director Henrik Devold in the Nursing Home Agency in Oslo, points out that fully vaccinated residents can have visits when they wish.
– In Oslo, we follow FHI’s recommendations, as well as our own levels of measures for infection control. Those who live in nursing homes and who are fully vaccinated can receive visits whenever they want, but there is a restriction on two visits at the same time as the rest of Oslo’s population, Devold tells Nettavisen.
He also points out that the residents can hug a few others.
– Residents in nursing homes can squeeze a couple of regular close contacts, and relatives can take fully vaccinated people on trips. There are also activities for fully vaccinated residents together inside the nursing homes. If there are situations that require it, then arrangements are made for even more visits. For example, there are separate rules for the soothing places, says Devold.
– There have been cases of infection
As is well known, the capital has had some of the country’s most stringent infection control measures for a long time, with reduced social contact and mobility.
– There are no separate rules in society for those who are fully vaccinated. The government has an ongoing work here, as the Prime Minister mentioned in his statement yesterday. It is still unclear whether vaccination will give individual rights, says Devold, and adds:
– Then we must remember that those who live in nursing homes are those who are exposed to the greatest risk of infection. There is an infection pressure towards the nursing homes when the infection is high in the community, and today there are six infected residents and 84 infected employees.
Devold states that recently there have also been individual cases of infection in fully vaccinated residents. He therefore believes it is important to follow the recommendations from NIPH, in order to avoid the spread of infection in the institutions.
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