Dependent employers have assured that Spanish retirement homes are “prepared” to face Covid after the explosion of cases registered by China, although they have asked not to “create alarm”, as they trust in the protection of vaccination and in the measures that have not ceased to apply, such as the use of the mask.
“We are prepared, doing things well, so that there are no more cases”, underlined the president of the Business Circle of Attention to People (CEAPs), Cinta Pascual, in statements to Ep, adding that “the important thing is to do do not create an alarm” and continue working in line with what has been done so far.
As the president of the Business Federation of the Dependency (FED), Ignacio Fernández-Cid has pointed out, what they ask them to do is review the contingency plans and verify that they are fully equipped with PPE material, in case of an accident an increase in cases . However, he specified that “there is no greater incidence” in residential centers, but what occurs is “a few isolated cases” and with a low degree of virulence.
This, according to the employers’ associations, is thanks to the high vaccination rate among the elderly who live in the residences.
“96% of residents, throughout Spain, are covered with the fourth dose, we must never say that enough, we must try to reach 100%, but there is a high percentage immunized against the strains we know”, he added the general secretary of the Association of Addiction Service Companies (AESTE), Jesús Cubero.
In this sense, the president of Ceaps has asked that all professionals in residential centers and family members be vaccinated with the fourth dose. “It is the only reliable system: vaccination, vaccination and vaccination,” Cinta Pascual abounded.
What they don’t want to happen again is for the elderly to be isolated, as happened in the first year of the pandemic. “The solution is not to lock up the elderly, because there are more infections outside than inside,” Pascual stressed, adding that this is “a red line” and that they will fight for the rights of residents to be respected.
In his view, what needs to be done is “to be cautious”, “sequence the cases that arrive” and “extreme precautions” in society to protect the most vulnerable people.
In this context, the residences will continue to apply their own measures, such as the use of the mask, the hydroalcoholic gel, the control of the PPE stock and the revision of the protocols in case they need to be activated.
“What you have to do is be more vigilant, the visits will not be limited, but you have to take somewhat extreme measures, know that we must not go back”, underlined the general secretary of AESTE.
Likewise, Jesús Cubero highlighted that the figure of liaison geriatricians that was implemented with the pandemic has been reactivated and that it has now been revived “to have support in the face of any problem”.
