Helping my relative stay safe from a covid outbreak
December 12, 2020 9:04 PM   Subscribe

Relative is in an assisted living facility under lockdown due to 3 covid cases. Nobody is allowed out of their rooms. What precautions can I recommend to my relative considering the shared HVAC?

Relative uses oxygen so I'm not sure they can wear their mask constantly which is what I would recommend. Open windows, use an air purifier if you have one, anything else?
posted by crunchy potato to Grab Bag (7 answers total)
 
The CDC recommends wearing a face mask whenever you are in public. It is not as simple to wear a mask for people on oxygen therapy, which often requires the use of a nasal cannula. If you or someone you know has COPD and is struggling with the idea of wearing a mask, keep in mind that people with lung conditions are at a very high risk for COVID-19 complications. Try on different masks to see which is most comfortable for you. Look for masks made out of breathable fabrics and ones that have bendable edges for a better fit around your nasal cannula. If you can not find one that properly fits you, make your own! Have a few masks so you do not reuse the same mask without properly cleaning it in between uses. Always make sure to sanitize your hands before putting on and taking off a mask.
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posted by aniola at 9:08 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


If it's winter where they are, I'd get a (safe) room heater/space heater, maybe one in an oil-filled radiator style. Make sure all stuff/fabric/papers/clothes/furniture is permanently far away from the heater, and that the relative isn't likely to forget and place things near it!

If they have a window, then they can occasionally open the window for fresh air (important) and have their own room heat.

Dollars to doughnuts the facility forbids space heaters. Get them to find a workaround for this -- they should find a way to make this work.

Also: make sure vitamin D3 is being supplemented (they're probably not getting enough sun now) and that they are getting _some_ exercise (maybe via an online class).

Make sure they have good, fast enough, reliable Internet service.

Make sure they have social contact, with you, with their friends, through phone or Internet conversations.
posted by amtho at 9:55 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


In addition to an air purifier, a humidifier. Higher ambient humidity will reduce the amount of time viral particles can stay airborne. There have been some studies about this if you want to look it up!

Best wishes to your relative in assisted living; I have a family member in assisted living too, and it's a scary time for them right now.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 11:20 PM on December 12, 2020 [6 favorites]


My inference from news reports about outbreaks in this type of facility is that COVID is spread much more by the staff than by the HVAC. How are meals being handled (delivered?)? Are rooms being entered for cleaning? My priority would be to stay well away from staff when they enter the room and/or minimize need for entry (e.g., put used meal trays out in the hall, if this is possible). The best time to air the place out is going to be during/after a staff person is in the room.
posted by heatherlogan at 10:34 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]


A recent case study showed heavy accumulation of viral genetic material on HVAC filters, so you are right to try to mitigate the risk of this factor even if there is no direct evidence of infection by COVID from it. Here are a few detailed guidelines and suggestions for air purification:

CDC guide: https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/air-cleaners-hvac-filters-and-coronavirus-covid-19

A review of hospital air quality and COVID (technical, but informative; if you have any questions I am used to reading this sort of thing so you can memail me if you want): https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.0c03247
posted by jjray at 12:09 PM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]


> stay well away from staff when they enter the room and/or minimize need for entry

And also, the time for the patient to definitely wear their mask is whenever the staff or anyone is in their room. Maybe ask staff (or post a sign on the door if possible) asking anyone entering to knock first and give the patient time to don the mask.

(Also be sure the staff is wearing their mask while in the room, but based on my (unfortunately somewhat numerous) experiences in hospitals and assisted living type centers during the pandemic, staff mask wearing is pretty much universal. Nevertheless if it isn't, huge red flag and something that needs to be addressed ASAP.)

If you cant keep the window open or at least cracked a bit and can't get or can't afford some kind of commercial air purifier, a DIY fan+MERV13 filter is not a bad option. Make sure the fan isn't creating air currents that might cause problems by blowing air from person A towards person B, however.

Also, if a space heater isn't allowed, a heating pad or heated blanket might be safe and might fill the need for personal heating while keeping windows cracked.

Also, in the scope of risk mitigation efforts, transmission via staff and, generally speaking, first-hand person-to-person contact is by far your primary risk vector, transmission further across the room than you might think via air currents caused by fans or hard-blowing air conditioning units is a secondary consideration, and transmission via the central HVAC system is by far a tertiary consideration. Could happen I suppose but must be way, way, way less common than the first two types of transmission or transmission patterns would be far, far, far different than they actually are.
posted by flug at 12:42 PM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


I would call the facility and talk to them about how they are managing Covid. This is their specialty. Competence will vary, and you want to know how good they are at managing the spread of a virus. The state version of CDC/ Public Health will have been in hopefully close contact, as nursing & rehab facilities have had the worst outbreaks. Call your state's CDC/ Public Health Dept. and ask for their review of the facility, and the rules around ventilation.
posted by theora55 at 1:53 PM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]


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