Step-down facilities zoned for nurses, patients

CHIEF Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram said healthcare workers at the covid19 step-down facilities in Sangre Grande, Couva and Tacarigua will have minimal interaction with patients.

But they will be staying with them throughout and won't even go home during their assignment at the facilities.

Parasram said the patients require minimal levels of care, as they would have been in hospital, recovered and showing no symptoms. Some would be awaiting their first negative test, while others would be waiting for their second negative test.

Parasram said there are cordoned-off "hot zones" and "cold zones" at the facilities, the hot zones being where the patients are housed. Nurses will enter the hot zones for only short periods and only when wearing the required personnel protective equipment (PPE). He said there are stations for putting on and taking off the PPE and all sanitary measures will also be observed.

The CMO said the nurses will spend most of their time in the cold zones, outside where the patients are. They will only enter the hot zone if there are any issues. These measures of minimal contact and using PPE have been put in place to control infection and cross-contamination within the facilities.

Parasram said the nurses will stay on-site for the duration of the time they are looking after the patients, and will not leave to go home or anywhere else.

He said there will be a period of decontamination for the nurses once all the patients are released.